US DOL: Workplace Injuries Continue Their Downward Trend

The US Department of Labor reported today that were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2016, which occurred at a rate of 2.9 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See www.bls.gov/web/osh/summ1_00.xlsx and www.bls.gov/web/osh/summ2_00.xlsx.) Private industry employers reported nearly 48,500 fewer nonfatal injury and illness cases in 2016 compared to a year earlier, according to estimates from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII).

Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Continue to Decline

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)  has reported that there were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2015, which occurred at a rate of 3.0 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers.

OSHA fines Englewood, NJ, surgical center $68,000 for failing to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogen hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited CTO Management LLC, doing business as Health East Ambulatory Surgical Center, with 10 serious violations for bloodborne pathogen hazards found at its Englewood facility. OSHA's August 2012 investigation was initiated in response to a complaint and resulted in $68,000 in proposed penalties.

The serious violations include failing to counsel an employee who was stuck with a contaminated needle, test the employee's blood in a timely manner and provide the appropriate medicine to the employee to prevent contracting a potential disease. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer new, or should have known, of the hazard.