A pair of trending topics will be on the agenda at tomorrow’s meeting of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) Workgroups. The Emerging and Current Issues workgroup will meet from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST to discuss opioids and suicides in construction.

OSHA has determined that Universal Trucking Solutions LLC – a defunct Hartford, Connecticut, commercial motor carrier – and its co-owner, Juan Ramirez, violated the whistleblower protections of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA). Agency investigators found that the company and Ramirez retaliated against a driver who repeatedly voiced concerns to management about faulty vehicle maintenance.

OSHA has cited CLF Construction Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. for exposing employees to fall hazards after a CLF suffered fatal injuries in a fall at a worksite in Media, Pennsylvania. OSHA proposed $170,560 in penalties for Philadelphia-based subcontractor CLF Construction, and $74,217 for Horsham, Pennsylvania-based general contractor Toll Brothers.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced a final rule aimed at enhancing the professional development of air carrier pilots. The Pilot Professional Development rule requires specific training for newly-hired pilots and supplemental training for captains.

The World Health Organization has designated 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. Nurses play a critical role in our healthcare system and in the lives of the patients they care for. The very act of caring for and serving others can place nurses at risk for many workplaces injuries and illnesses.

Patient and health advocacy groups representing millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions are applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments in the case of Texas v. United States this term. The case is the latest court challenge to the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The groups filed an amicus brief urging the Court’s swift action and citing the detrimental impacts and uncertainty patients would face were the case left at the lower court level.

The families of two Pennsylvania firefighters who were killed when a building under construction collapsed have filed a lawsuit against the construction company and the owner of the building, according to news reports. York City firefighters Ivan Flanscha, 50, and Zach Anthony, 29, died on March 22, 2018, when a partial building collapse caused them to fall from the second floor and be buried under debris.

In a move toward meeting goals for better cardiovascular health in the United States over the next decade, the American Heart Association (AHA) is joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Hypertension Control Roundtable (NHCR)® along with other founding members in a public, private and non-profit collaboration committed to increasing blood pressure control rates to 80% by 2025.

The Campbell Institute, the global center of EHS excellence at the National Safety Council (NSC), has released a new white paper, Designing Strategy for Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention, the second in its series on this emerging safety trend. The report shares the perspectives of 11 Institute member and partner organizations on a variety of topics surrounding the development of their serious injury and fatality (SIF) prevention strategies and long-term goals, including metrics, tools, communication and performance.