A bill that would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers had a hearing by the House Education and Labor subcommittee last week. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694), sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), would mandate that employers make minor job modifications, if needed, to allow a pregnant worker to continue employment. Accommodations could include different seating, more frequent bathroom breaks, or lighter duty.

Thirty percent of workers who wear hand protection don’t wear the right kind of glove for the task, according to the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), which has just released a resource designed to help safety managers select the application-appropriate impact protection gloves for their employees. Why does hand protection matter so much? Hand injuries accounted for more than 40% of nonfatal occupational injuries to upper extremities in private industry in 2017 that involved days away from work.

An Alabama newspaper publishing company is facing $145,858 in penalties after an OSHA investigation into an employee injury determined that the company has been exposing its workers to amputation hazards. The incident at BH Media’s Opelika, Alabama facility occurred when an employee suffered a finger amputation when their hand was caught in a stacking machine that unintentionally started while being serviced.

With crowds of trick-or-treaters expected in neighborhoods around the country, the National Safety Council (NSC) urges caution for everyone out on the roads during the Halloween holiday. Most crash-related pedestrian fatalities occur when it is dark, according to NHTSA, and pedestrian deaths spike Halloween night. Increased pedestrian traffic, alcohol consumption and lower visibility because of costumes and masks, as well as shorter daylight hours, increase the risk of crashes or incidents.

An OSHA investigation into the deaths of four employees of an Illinois chemical plant has resulted in more than a million dollars in proposed penalties against AB Specialty Silicones LLC. The company has been cited for a dozen willful federal safety violations in the explosion and fire at its Waukegan facility on May 3, 2019 that claimed the lives of four workers.

For workers in a variety of industries, exposure to chemicals is commonplace. American workers handle, transport, or encounter thousands of chemicals every day, from cleaning products to industrial solvents. Although many of these chemicals have important uses, they can also be harmful to workers who are exposed to them.

The Georgia facility at which a temporary employee was crushed to death by pallets last week has a history of safety violations and citations by OSHA. Fifty-nine-year-old Willie Bonner reportedly died at the Nichiha USA in Bibb County after a robotic arm knocked him onto a conveyer belt. OSHA is investigating the fatality.

A new book from the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) APHA Press, "Physical Activity & Public Health: A Practitioner’s Guide,"explores how community organizers and public health workers can build successful programs that promote and sustain physical activity. The handbook discusses health benefits of regular exercise and infrastructure barriers to physical activity and highlights community programs with a track record of success.

An employer-sponsored behavioral health program can reduce symptoms in employees with depression and anxiety, reports a study in the October Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.