Copyright

(c) 2010-2025 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.
Showing posts with label US Labor Department. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Labor Department. Show all posts

Thursday, July 17, 2014

National Prevention Council Annual Status Reports

Today's post was shared by US Labor Department and comes from www.surgeongeneral.gov

Every year, the Council submits a report describing national progress in meeting specific prevention, health promotion, and public health goals defined in the National Prevention Strategy to the President and the relevant committees of Congress.

National Prevention Council’s 2014 Annual Status Report

The National Prevention Council’s 2014 Annual Status Report illustrates how Council departments are working across the federal government to incorporate health in diverse sectors like housing, transportation, and education to advance the Strategy and influence the health of individuals, families, and communities. In addition, the report highlights how partners across the country are advancing the National Prevention Strategy in organizations ranging from health care systems to workforce agencies and national foundations to local non-profits. 
Read the National Prevention Council 2014 Annual Status Report (PDF - 4.8 MB)
The above file is currently undergoing remediation for compliance with Section 508. The remediation will be complete by July 31, 2014. In the interim, should you need accessibility assistance with the file, please contact the Office of the Surgeon General at Surgeon.General@hhs.gov.

Previous Annual Status Reports

Read the National Prevention Council 2012 Annual Status Report  (PDF - 490 KB)
Read the National Prevention Council 2011 Annual...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Thursday, December 5, 2013

OSHA fines Ronkonkoma contractor $460G for more safety violations

Today's post was shared by FairWarning and comes from www.newsday.com


A Ronkonkoma painting and stucco contractor is facing $460,350 in fines for safety violations, its sixth penalty since 2008, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013.
A Ronkonkoma painting and stucco contractor is facing $460,350 in fines for safety violations, its sixth penalty since 2008, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday.
The fine total is the largest so far for Painting and Decorating Inc., the department said. The citation came after a March inspection by the Westbury office of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration turned up alleged violations at a work site in Manhasset. The violations were similar to those found in previous inspections, said OSHA, which is a unit of the Labor Department.
The new allegations include improperly inspected scaffolding; hazards such as missing cross braces and planks on scaffolding; a lack of fall protection for workers and a lack of protective helmets; and no protection against falling objects.
"The sizable fines proposed reflect the ongoing failure and refusal by this employer to provide basic safeguards for its employees," said Anthony Ciuffo, OSHA's Long Island area...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

US Labor Department seeks public comment on agency standards to improve chemical safety

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a request for information seeking public comment on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management standard and related standards, as well as other policy options to prevent major chemical incidents.

The RFI is in response to executive order 13650, which seeks to improve chemical facility safety and security, issued in the wake of the April 2013 West, Texas, tragedy that killed 15 in an ammonium nitrate explosion.

In addition to comments on its Process Safety Management standard, OSHA seeks input on potential updates to its Explosives and Blasting Agents, Flammable Liquids and Spray Finishing standards, as well as potential changes to PSM enforcement policies. The agency also asks for information and data on specific rulemaking and policy options, and the workplace hazards they address. OSHA will use the information received in response to this RFI to determine what actions, if any, it may take.

After publication of the RFI in the Federal Register, the public will have 90 days to submit written comments. Once the RFI is published in the Federal Register, interested parties may submit comments at www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Comments may also be submitted by mail or facsimile. To view the RFI visit http://www.osha.gov/chemicalexecutiveorder/OSHA_PSM_RFI.pdf. For more information, visit www.osha.gov/chemicalexecutiveorder/index.html.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

OSHA Fines: List Industries Inc. Deerfield Beach Florida $56,000

The seal of the United States Department of LaborImage via Wikipedia


US Department of Labor's OSHA cites List Industries Inc.'s Deerfield Beach, Fla., plant with repeat and serious safety violations; fines total $56,000

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $56,000 in penalties against List Industries Inc. after an inspection of its Deerfield Beach manufacturing plant found amputation hazards that had been previously cited during OSHA inspections in 2007 and 2009.

One repeat violation with a $49,000 penalty has been cited for allowing workers to operate a mechanical power press that lacked machine guards, exposing workers to being pulled into the machinery and suffering possible amputations. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

One serious violation with a $7,000 penalty also has been issued for exposing workers to amputation hazards by failing to use safety blocks when changing dies or equipment is being repaired. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

"OSHA will not tolerate management waiting for a serious injury to occur before correcting violations that expose workers to potential amputation hazards," said Darlene Fossum, the agency's area director in Fort Lauderdale. "Employers must take proactive actions toward workplace safety."

List Industries, a manufacturer of metal shelving and lockers with six locations in the U.S., has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Friday, January 20, 2012

$1 Million Ordered in Wages and Damages for Retailiation

English: I took this photo of an Airtran Airwa...Image via Wikipedia

US Department of Labor's OSHA orders AirTran Airways to reinstate
pilot, pay more than $1 million in back wages and damages
OSHA found airline violated whistleblower protection provision of AIR21


The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of Dallas, Texas-based Southwest Airlines Co., to reinstate a former pilot who was fired after reporting numerous mechanical concerns. The agency also has ordered that the pilot be paid more than $1 million in back wages plus interest and compensatory damages. An investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program found reasonable cause to believe that the termination was an act of retaliation in violation of the whistleblower provision of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, known as AIR21.

"Airline workers must be free to raise safety and security concerns, and companies that diminish those rights through intimidation or retaliation must be held accountable," said OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels. "Airline safety is of vital importance, not only to the workers, but to the millions of Americans who use our airways."

The pilot's complaint alleged that the airline removed him from flight status on Aug. 23, 2007, pending an investigative hearing regarding a sudden spike in the pilot's mechanical malfunction reports, or PIREPS. The airline held an internal investigative hearing on Sept. 6, 2007, that lasted 17 minutes. Seven days later, the airline terminated the pilot's employment, claiming that he did not satisfactorily answer a question regarding the spike in reports. OSHA found that the pilot did not refuse to answer any questions during the hearing, answers to questions were appropriate, and the action taken by the airline was retaliatory.

"Retaliating against a pilot for reporting mechanical malfunctions is not consistent with a company that values the safety of its workers and customers," added Michaels. "Whistleblower laws are designed to protect workers' rights to speak out when they have safety concerns, and the Labor Department will vigilantly protect and defend those fundamental rights."

Either party to the case can file an appeal with the Labor Department's Office of Administrative Law Judges, but such an appeal does not stay the preliminary reinstatement order.

AirTran Airways is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc. with headquarters in Orlando. On May 2, 2011, Southwest Airlines completed the acquisition of AirTran Holdings Inc. and now operates AirTran Airways as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provision of AIR21, as well as 20 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various securities, trucking, workplace health and safety, nuclear, pipeline, environmental, rail, maritime, health care, consumer product and food safety laws.

Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor for an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program.

Detailed information on employee whistleblower rights is available online at http://www.whistleblowers.gov.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Employer Co-Op Pays OSHA Fines after 26 Industry Employee Deaths

US Labor Department's OSHA reaches settlement with Wisconsin-based Cooperative Plus to improve grain bin safety training, abate hazards Cooperative to pay $550,000 in penalties for grain violations

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has filed a settlement agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission between the agency and Cooperative Plus Inc., after the farmer-owned Wisconsin cooperative agreed to pay $550,000 in penalties, increase employee grain bin safety training and abate all safety issues at its grain handling facilities in Whitewater, Burlington, East Troy and Genoa City.

"At least 26 workers were killed in grain entrapments nationwide last year, the highest number of any year since researchers started collecting data in 1978, but there are well-known safety practices that can be implemented to prevent these tragedies," said Mike Connors, OSHA's regional administrator in Chicago. "We are pleased to reach this agreement. The procedures and training that Cooperative Plus agreed to implement will ensure that these often deadly entrapments will not happen again."

As part of the settlement agreement, Cooperative Plus will provide site-specific training for all employees exposed to potential hazards identified by OSHA's grain handling, permit-required confined space and lockout standards. The cooperative also will schedule confined space and bin entry rescue drills semiannually, and provide 10 hours of training to newly hired and current employees whose duties expose them to potential hazards addressed by these standards.

Additionally, the cooperative will develop and implement a program to manage the risk of grain handling that includes safe methods to inspect grain and dislodge clumps of grain to empty the bin; develop lockout/tagout procedures for augers, conveyors and other equipment prior to bin entry; and develop engineering controls to abate hazards posed by bridged and castled grain. The company will audit work to ensure that all employees are properly trained in program rules and OSHA safety standards.

Finally, the company agreed to retain at least one independent safety consultant and to comply with OSHA follow-up inspections over a two-year period.

OSHA cited Cooperative Plus Inc. for a total of 14 willful, 23 serious and two other-than-serious safety violations in August 2010 for lacking proper equipment and procedures, thereby exposing workers to the risk of being engulfed and suffocated in grain storage bins.

Since 2009, OSHA has fined grain operators in Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, South Dakota, Ohio and Nebraska following preventable fatalities and injuries. In addition to enforcement actions and training, OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels sent a notification letter in August 2010 to grain elevator operators warning them not to allow workers to enter grain storage facilities without proper equipment. For a copy of the letter, visit http://www.osha.gov/asst-sec/Grain_letter.html.

Burlington-headquartered Cooperative Plus has locations throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including in Clinton, East Troy, Elkhorn, Genoa City, Union Grove and Whitewater. The company has a combined member-ownership of more than 10,000 and annual sales of more than $50 million.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Milwaukee Area Office at 414-297-3315.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.