Workplace Safety is the Most Important Issue This Labor Day

More than 85% of of the workers polled this Labor Day consider workplace safety as the most important issue. The study, "Public Attitudes Towards and Experiences with Workplace Safety," draws on dozens of surveys and polls conducted by NORC, one of the nation's leading academic survey operations, think tanks and public opinion firms. NORC’s analysis sought to gain a picture of Americans' experiences with workplace safety issues. The study was done for the Public Welfare Foundation, based in Washington, DC, which supports efforts to improve workers' rights.

Click here to read the study.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational exposures,

Related articles:

• Workers rate safety most important workplace issue in new Labor Day study (scienceblog.com)
• Workplace safety records go online this fall (cbc.ca)
• 85% of Americans Say Workplace Safety Regulations are "Very Important" (workinprogress.firedoglake.com)
• Workplace safety website falls short of pledge (newswire.ca)
• Workers rate safety most important workplace issue in new Labor Day study (physorg.com)
• Workplace safety ranked #1 labor standard [The Pump Handle] (scienceblogs.com)

Put It Down - Friday April 30th

Distracted driving is a major cause of work related motor vehicle accidents. Encouraging employers and employees to go phone free in their vehicles while working is a goal of the US Department of Transportation. 


The US Department of Transportation in conjunction with a campaign by Oprah Winfrey has declared Friday, April 30th a phone free day in motor vehicles.


To read more on distracted driving activity and workers’ compensation, click here.

Congressional Hearing: Whistleblower and Victim’s Rights Provisions of H.R. 2067, the Protecting America’s Workers Act

Workforce Protections Subcommittee Hearing10:00 AM, April 28, 20102175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC

The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing Wednesday on a proposal to strengthen protections for workers who blow the whistle on dangerous workplace conditions, and guarantee a voice for families of workers killed, and those who are seriously injured, or become ill on the job.

Among other provisions, the Protecting America’s Workers Act (H.R. 2067) and proposed changes to legislation, would update workplace whistleblower protections by mirroring other modern whistleblower statutes, such as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The bill would also ensure that victims and their families are kept informed about investigations of fatalities and incidents involving serious injuries or illnesses.

Archived Webcast » 

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA) Opening Statement »

Witnesses:

• Jordan Barab »Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and HealthWashington, D.C.
• Lloyd B. Chinn »PartnerProskauer Rose LLPNew York, New York
• Tonya Ford »Niece of Robert Fitch, a worker killed at an Archer Daniels Midland plantLincoln, Nebraska
• Neal Jorgensen »whistleblower formerly employed at Plastic IndustriesPreston, Idaho
• Dr. Celeste Monforton »Assistant Research Professor
  Department of Environmental and Occupational HealthThe George Washington UniversityWashington, D.C.
• Dennis J. Morikawa »Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLPPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
• Lynn Rhinehart »General CounselAFL-CIOWashington, D.C.

David Michaels Testifies That OSHA Needs An Update-Enhance Penalties

In testimony before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protection of US Congress, David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, reported that the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) needs to be strengthened and enhanced. He encouraged that both civil monetary fines and criminal penalties should be increased.

"....If we are to fulfill the Department's goal of providing good jobs for everyone, we must make even more progress. Good jobs are safe jobs, and American workers still face unacceptable hazards. More than 5,000 workers are killed on the job in America each year, more than 4 million are injured, and thousands more will become ill in later years from present occupational exposures. Moreover, the workplaces of 2010 are not those of 1970: the law must change as our workplaces have changed. The vast majority of America's environmental and public health laws have undergone significant transformations since they were enacted in the 1960s and 70s, while the OSH Act has seen only minor amendments. As a British statesman once remarked, 'The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.'"

"Monetary penalties for violations of the OSH Act have been increased only once in 40 years despite inflation during that period. Unscrupulous employers often consider it more cost effective to pay the minimal OSHA penalty and continue to operate an unsafe workplace than to correct the underlying health and safety problem. The current penalties do not provide an adequate deterrent. This is apparent when compared to penalties that other agencies are allowed to assess."

"Criminal penalties in the OSH Act are also inadequate for deterring the most egregious employer wrongdoing. Under the OSH Act, criminal penalties are limited to those cases where a willful violation of an OSHA standard results in the death of a worker and to cases of false statements or misrepresentations. The maximum period of incarceration upon conviction for a violation that costs a worker's life is six months in jail, making these crimes a misdemeanor.....Nothing focuses attention like the possibility of going to jail. Unscrupulous employers who refuse to comply with safety and health standards as an economic calculus will think again if there is a chance that they will go to jail for ignoring their responsibilities to their workers...... A fresh look at the OSH Act and its relevance for the 21st century is indeed overdue."

Click here to read more about OSHA and workers' compensation.

Workplace Violence Kills 4 in St. Louis

The terrible consequences of workplace violence left 4 people dead and 5 hurt at a St. Louis transformer plant yesterday. A disgruntled employee took a gun to work and opened fired killing his co-workers.

The suspected shooter was identified as plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in 2006 against the administrators of the company retirement plan. The law suit alleged that unreasonable fee were charged in administrating the plan.

While workers' compensation may provide a remedy for some victims and their families, the basic question remains on what can be done to make the workplace safer. What signals existed that this was going to occur and what actions could be taken by an employer  to assist disgruntled workers from "going postal."

All would agree that certain circumstances are difficult to predict. On the other hand, employers and their insurance carriers should be preemptive in their efforts to create a safer workplace. When Congress looks at work place safety it should broaden its vision to include regulatory preventive tactics so that this situation will not occur.

The Jungle Called Workers’ Comp

Almost a century ago Upton Sinclair authored The Jungle. It is the story of the dangerous work of the meatpacking industry. In a very comprehensive report, “The Speed Kills You,” published by Nebraska Appleseed 2009, the stark realities of the failures of the workers’ compensation system are exposed.

Nebraska Appleseed (Appleseed) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public interest law project.  Their principles: “core values, common ground, and equal justice,” guide their mission. Appleseed recruited many scholars, professionals, and community leaders, to assist in the production of the report.

The failings described by the report, while targeted to Nebraska’s meatpacking industry, have universal application and the consequences dramatically reveal the domino effect of an imploding system that has been run off the road and been flung into the ditch.

Appleseed reports that in Nebraska, where 20% of the US meat is processed, the workplace remains a jungle.  After conducting an extensive survey, with input from both employers, employees, academicians and practitioners, the non-profit group reported that deadly speed on the meat packaging line has resulted in an increase in the amount of injuries that go unreported because of employees’ fear of harassment by employers.

The meatpackers, many undocumented workers, suffer from repetitive motion injures caused by working in awkward positions all day.  Their language barrier, lack of knowledge of legal remedies, unfamiliarity with workers’ compensation benefit procedures, further complicate their ability to seek redress.

The noble goals envisioned by the national workers’ compensation system were to provide a summary and remedial benefit to injured workers. The cost of benefits was to be passed onto to the consumer. Safety was not addressed. Unfortunately, it is not a punitive system geared to make the workplace safer. Since its inception in 1911, it has lacked the necessary elements to create an economic incentive for employers to increase safety in the workplace.

The issues identified by the Nebraska study are mirrored throughout the country. Employees lack adequate information about the workers’ compensation, they continue to be subjected to poor ergonomic conditions, inspections by OSHA have been few and far between, and discrimination against employees and a challenge to their dignity continues. There are few penalties imposed against employers for delay and denial of claims. The system has become convoluted, dilatory, and litigious in nature. It now forces an employee to battle a system that blames them for getting hurt.

The workers’ compensation jungle described by the Appleseed report must finally be tamed. Employees should no longer be treated merely as beasts of burden. Injured workers should have their dignity restored. The Appleseed recommendations should be addressed and the entire system, including medical benefit delivery, be improved. To make the workplace jungle safer, employers must be held accountable for the unreasonable actions taken only for their pecuniary gain.
.........
To read more about medical benefits & workers' compensation click here.

Employer Responsibility in the Flu Pandemic

The threat of the spread of flu this fall in the US is a major concern to infectious disease specialists. Healthcare workers are extremely apprehensive as the disease is beginning to spread and employers have not instituted adequate protections for workers.

In the US alone there have been 6,506 hospitalizations of H1N1 Flu patients. The CDC has reported that there have been 436 reported to date because of the novel flu infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a Phase-6 pandemic, the highest level of concern. Over 1,154 deaths have been reported worldwide.

The CDC has issued an Interim Guidance for controlling the spread of infection in healthcare facilities including hospitals, long-term care and outpatient facilities and other settings where healthcare is provided.

Healthcare workers have rallied to protest the firing of a co-worker who disclosed that a healthcare facility was not taken appropriate action to prevent the spread of flu at its work site. The major national unions in April 2009 warned in a report that employers were not taking adequate precautions to protect healthcare workers.

Most recently a task force of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) charged with the responsibility of making recommendations on how to protect workers from the H1N1 flu heard evidence that actions by employers could reduce the spread of the disease. It was reported the use of N95 masks provided 75% protection against lab-confirmed flu.

Workers' remedies from the residuals of the illness have now been limited. The Federal vaccination compensation program will shield the vaccine makers from liability claims. Employers will be protected against civil law suits by the exclusivity provisions of the workers' compensation system. Workers' Compensation does not encompass a roll in prevention of disease. OSHA has alerted employers to take action, but cannot compel them to do so.

It is time for employers to act to prevent unnecessary illness and death in the workplace. Simple educational and enforcement actions by employers will go along way to protect workers from the consequences of this unprecedented pandemic. While time is short and the clock is ticking away as the US flu season formally approaches, time still remains for employers to act and mandate protocols and procedures that will prevent the spread of the disease and will save lives.

..........

For more on workers compensation and the flu pandemic visit the Workers' Compensation Blog.

Working While Texting: The New Workers Compensation Defense

New technology encroaching upon the workplace has been both a help and a hindrance. Recent studies add to the growing volumes of data reporting that the use of cell phones while driving provides a significant distraction and increases the risk of accidents at alarming rates.

A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) has adds to mounds of data that the use of cell phone technology is a driving distraction. The study combined more than 6,000,000 miles of driving and causally relates the use of cell phone technology and the increased risk of motor vehicle accidents. The study concluded that merely dialing a cell phone while driving produces an accident risk of 2.8 times as high as a non-distracted driver. The use of a heavy vehicle or truck, normally used in commercial situations, increased rate of a risk of crash of 23.2 times as high as the non-distracted driver. The report concludes that “…..texting should be banned in moving vehicles for all drivers. “

“Given recent catastrophic crash events and disturbing trends, there is an alarming amount of misinformation and confusion regarding cell phone and texting use while behind the wheel of a vehicle. The findings from our research at VTTI can help begin to clear up these misconceptions as it is based on real world driving data. We conduct transportation safety research in an effort to equip the public with information that can save lives,” says Dr. Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

Workers’ compensation is based upon a no-fault system, and few defenses exist that bar recovery. Defenses such as intoxication or working under the influence of controlled dangerous substances may limit or bar recovery in many jurisdictions. Generally, if an accident or injury was the sole or proximate cause of the prohibitive activity, recovery will be denied.

Public outrage as to the findings of the VTTI study has quickly generated into proposed Federal legislation, by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D. N.Y.) and three other Democrats, to ban the use of cell phones for texting while driving. Only 14 States have enacted progressive legislation to outright ban texting while driving.

Accidents and injuries at work have a devastating economic impact on a State’s economy. The study will assist State legislatures and courts to recognize that manual manipulation of phones, such as dialing and texting of the cell phone, results in a substantial increase in the risk of being involved in a safety critical event. Workers’ compensation benefits may be prohibited by statute for working while texting (WWT) . In the alternative Courts, may merely consider such events as a risk not associated with the employment, ie. a communication not related to employment or an employer prohibited activity, or, in some instances, a mere deviation from employment. Audits of wireless communication records will assist in providing a data trail.

The Center for Truck and Bus Safety at VTTI, by publishing the study, has made a significant contribution to workplace safety. The message has now been sent for action to be taken to eliminate this safety risk at work.

NCCI Reports Workers Compensation Claims Continue to Decline

A report issued by a national workers' compensation rating organization, NCCI Holdings, Inc (NCCI) disclosed that workers' compensation claims frequency is declining.

"Preliminary results indicate a decline of 4.0% for 2008. This is on the heels of a 2.6% drop in claim frequency in 2007 and it extends a trend that started in the 1990s. While the overall decline is widespread .... high-cost Permanent Total claims have emerged recently as a noticeable exception to this decline."

The key finding of their analysis were:

• Over the last five years, there were significant declines in total lost-time claims frequency for all industries, geographic regions, and employer sizes
• The number and frequency of Permanent Total claims have increased significantly over the last four years, with all major causes of injury contributing to the rise
• The rise in Permanent Total claims appears to be driven primarily by workers age 50 or under
  
• While claim frequency generally decreases as risk size increases, single-state risks in some classes have higher claim frequency at the higher payroll sizes than at lower payroll sizes

Hispanic Workers Have High Death Rates

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has again reported higher death dates for Hispanic workers in the United States. Hispanic workers are one of the fastest growing segments in the US workforce and their death rate has been reported as consistently high.

Work-related injury deaths among Hispanic workers during 1992-2006 totaled 11,202 which equates to 13% of the entire US work-related deaths during that timeframe. Of that number 67% of the Hispanics who lost their lives during the years 2003-2006 were foreign born which is an increase of 52% from 1992.

While the highest number of deaths of Hispanic workers were reported 2003-2006 in California (773 deaths), the highest rates were in South Carolina (22.8 per 100,000 Hispanic workers.)

Losing the workplace cancer fight – BBC

The Stirling University study mentioned in the BBC programme blurb below will appear in the October-December 2007 issue of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health (IJOEH), available free online www.ijoeh.com It concludes the contribution of workplace factors to all cancers is at least double and possibly four times the commonly cited Doll/Peto contribution (4 per cent of all cancers related to work). The BBC piece, a 40 minute documentary, concentrates on the UK, but most of the lessons apply equally well in other modern, industrialised nations – and certainly to the situation the US, Canada and Australia.

You can listen to the programme online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/fileon4
Duration: 37mins File Size: 18Mb

Podcast: Download Episode

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/fileon4/fileon4_20071009-2130.mp3


Related materials are available online at: www.hazards.org/cancer and www.hazards.org/cancer/preventionkit

Losing the workplace cancer fight

By Tim Whewell
BBC Radio 4, File On 4

The HSE is responsible for workplace safety

Occupational cancer is a quiet almost invisible epidemic picking off its victims years after they were first exposed to the risk.

It is one of the areas of workplace safety that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for.

Yet according to a new study published on Tuesday its occupational cancer figures are out of date.

The HSE's figures say 6,000 people die annually of work related cancers.

We know that the existing figures are wrong because of the basis of the calculation that was done some 25 years ago


Prof Andrew Watterson

But the study by Prof Andrew Watterson of Stirling University has found that between 18,000 to 24,000 people a year die of occupationally caused cancers.

"We know that the existing figures are wrong because of the basis of the calculation that was done some 25 years ago," he said.

"They looked at small number of - at that time - large industries. There are many more small to medium sized enterprises now where there may be exposures."

The HSE accepts its figures are out of date but the academic charged with reviewing them, believes they will only show a small increase.

Lesley Rushton of Imperial College said: "Because we are adding more cancers the estimates will rise."

But he added that figures for the six cancers in the HSE's original research will not differ greatly.

Cancer cluster

One of the newer industries Professor Watterson believes the HSE's data does not take into account is microelectronics.

Eleven years after Grace Morrison left the National Semiconductor factory in Greenock, near Glasgow she still has no explanation for what she and many other former workers saw as a cancer cluster in the area.

Grace was diagnosed with cancer and in the same week her sister, who also worked at the plant was found to have leukaemia which eventually claimed her life.

"It was a dreadful time my sister endured two years of hell with the treatment she was having.

Female cancers

"She survived two years and I'm still in remission."

Eventually after a local campaign, the HSE agreed to look into complaints by the firm's employees.

One theory was their cancer stemmed at least partly from exposure to some the chemicals the workers added to tiny silicon discs as part of the microchip production process.

The HSE's 2001 report found two to three times the expected rate of female lung cancer and four to five times the expected rate of female stomach cancers.

'No proof'

It found no immediate proof of a link but said further study was needed urgently yet this work only began this year.

Minutes of meetings of the Microelectronics Working Group, which brings together industry representatives, trade unions, and the HSE, obtained by File On 4 indicate disagreements between the various sides that may help explain the delay in starting the more detailed follow-up study.

One, for example, was over the remit of the new research, with National Semiconductor apparently wanting it limited to lung cancer.

The company declined a request for an interview, but in a statement they said: "There is NO proof that working at National Semiconductor in Greenock has caused an increased risk of employees developing cancer

"Although we have had some concerns regarding the HSE's proposed follow-on study, we have worked closely with the HSE to provide timely comments and information to them.

"National Semiconductor is continuing to work with the HSE on its follow-up study and until this study is completed it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.

"The health and safety of our employees is of paramount importance and we remain committed to providing a safe working environment.

"This is highlighted by the numerous awards secured by the company from organisations such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the British Safety Council and National is one of the top Environmental Health and Safety performers in the UK."

Enforcement action

Steve Coldrick, head of the HSE's disease reduction programme, denied that the micro electronics industry was slow to agree to cooperate with in depth studies.

"The key point is the follow up is a further study so it is not an enforcement action," he said.

"It requires the co-operation and collaboration of the people concerned and the follow up study has started.

"You are talking about six years, but it is determining at the rate of other people as well.

"If other people do not think it is urgent and we have no regulatory force behind it, we are dependent on the pace at which they will go."

You can learn more about this story from File On 4, at 2000 BST, Tuesday 9 October 2007, repeated Sunday 14 October 1700 BST.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes