Reactions to OSHA’s decision to delay enforcing the federal standard reducing permissible exposure to silica dust have been mixed – and strong. “With construction season underway, three months of delay means that millions of workers will be exposed to hazardous silica dust that will make them sick and take their lives,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NationalCOSH.org).

OSHA yesterday announced a delay in enforcement of the crystalline silica standard to September 23, 2017. The rule, which applies to the construction industry, was originally scheduled to begin June 23, 2017. The agency said the delay would enable it to conduct additional outreach and provide educational materials and guidance for employers.

Now is the time for all good activists to come to the aid of working people. Funding for the Federal Government runs out on April 28. This means that before that date, if we are to avoid a government shutdown, the Senate and the House of Representatives will have to pass — and the President will have to sign — a new bill funding the government through the rest of Fiscal Year 2017.

Telecommuting facilitates a better overall work-life balance but it can blur the boundaries between work and personal life, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound).

There are significant differences in short sleep duration – less than seven hours a night –among occupational groups, according to a CDC study published today in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This is the first study to evaluate short sleep duration in more than 90 detailed occupation groups and across multiple states.

Where we live, work and play can directly impact our physical and mental health. To more aggressively combat negative health factors such as obesity, diabetes, asthma and anxiety, leaders of the nation’s built environment and public health organizations today pledged their support to promote greater collaboration to advance healthier, more walkable communities. The “Joint Call to Action to Promote Healthy Communities,” announced during National Public Health Week, brings together 450,000 professionals who recognize that the built environment — the way a community is designed and built from its buildings and public spaces to how we travel between communities — is a key determinant of health.

A three-person investigative team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying to the scene of an incident that killed three people and injured four others on Monday, April 3 at the Loy-Lange Box Company in Saint Louis, Missouri. Two of the fatalities were members of the public.

Three companies at a multi-employer construction site in Alaska have been cited for safety violations, while a fourth was not because it took quick action when workers were endangered. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued a total of 24 citations to Price Universal Energy, Gregory International, Inc., Quanta Power Generation, Inc. for violations at the Municipal Light and Power Plant 2A Expansion project in Anchorage. Fines for the three companies totaled $882,000.

Will the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch be good for worker safety? The clear answer is “No.” Allow me to elaborate.

Exposure to extreme heat and physical exertion during firefighting may trigger the formation of blood clots and impair blood vessel function, changes associated with increased risk of heart attack, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.