Workers' Compensation

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Rules to improve employment of people with disabilities and veterans published today

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the Federal Register published two final rules to improve hiring and employment of veterans and for people with disabilities. The rules were first announced Aug. 27, 2013, and more information is available at http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ofccp/OFCCP20131578.htm.

The rules will become effective March 24, 2014, and federal contractors will be required to comply with most of the final rule's requirements by that date. However, some contractors may have additional time to comply with the requirements in subpart C, which relates to affirmative action plans. Contractors with affirmative action plans in place on March 24 may maintain them until the end of their plan year and delay their compliance with the final rule's affirmative action plan requirements until the start of their next plan cycle.

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Manufacturers Argue Against $1 Billion for Lead Paint

NL Industries Inc. is one of five paint companies that presented closing arguments against a public-nuisance lawsuit by 10 California cities and counties seeking more than $1 billion to replace or contain lead paint in millions of homes.
Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg in San Jose,California, interrupted closing arguments by Don Scott, a lawyer for NL Industries, who relied on studies by U.S .doctors to claim that the companies didn’t know about the potential forlead poisoning in children in the first half of the 20th century, as the counties and cities have claimed.
Kleinberg, who is hearing the case, asked Scott about what he said was a “flat-out ban” of lead paint in Europe in the early 1900s, and a 1918 advertisement by Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont Co. that “distinguished themselves away from lead paint.”
“Is it your position that if the American doctors that you cite say X, that’s the end of the issue, and that the court should not be concerned with these other pieces of evidence that are undisputed?” Kleinberg asked. “I am troubled by the idea that because American doctors, fine people I’m sure they were,say XYZ that’s the end of the inquiry.”
Scott replied that the laws in Europe were a “mixed bag”in which some countries banned lead paint earlier than others.

‘Prevailing Standard’

“The fact is that on the question of what is pertinent tothis case, we’re looking at...

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A very particular crime - Hazards magazine

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.hazards.org

Dust storm: 'Crime-fraud' allegations cloud conference

A UK conference of dust exposure experts is attracting unwanted attention, reports Hazards editor Rory O’Neill.

Professor Ken Donaldson, the scientific chair of Inhaled Particles XI, has been identified in a potential asbestos cancer 'crime-fraud' controversy and accused of having undeclared links to the industry.

Good, impartial science can help save lives, by identifying life-threatening exposures at work and identifying measures – controls, safer standards, bans on the deadliest substances - to remedy them. Asbestos would be a case in point.

For those for whom the science came too late, the ones forming part of the body count, it can mean at least some compensation for a life cut short.

STACKED EVIDENCE
US building products giant Georgia-Pacific is accused of “seeding” the scientific literature against the interests of asbestos cancer claimants.

If the courts accepted the disputed findings of the GP-funded research, very many asbestos-exposed cancer sufferers could go uncompensated because they were exposed to the wrong kind of “shorter” chrysotile fibres, were not exposed at high enough levels or, if exposed at a high level, not exposed long enough.

Global exports of chrysotile increased by 20 per cent in 2012.

It is a high stakes business and was at the heart of a New York Supreme Court...

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Use Only as Directed

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.propublica.org

During the last decade, more than 1,500 Americans dieda fter accidentally taking too much of a drug renowned for its safety:acetaminophen, one of the nation’s most popular pain relievers.

Acetaminophen – the active ingredient in Tylenol– is considered safe when taken at recommended doses. Tens of millions of people use it weekly with no ill effect. But in larger amounts, especially in combination with alcohol, the drug can damage or even destroy the liver.

Davy Baumle, a slender 12-year-oldwho loved to ride his dirt bike through the woods of southern Illinois, died from acetaminophen poisoning. So did tiny five-month-old Brianna Hutto. So did Marcus Trunk, a strapping 23-year-old construction worker from Philadelphia.

The toll does not have to be so high.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has long been aware of studies showing the risks of acetaminophen – in particular, that the margin between the amount that helps and the amount that can cause serious harmis smaller than for other pain relievers.

So, too, has McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the unit of Johnson & Johnson that has built Tylenol into a billion-dollar brand and the leader in acetaminophen sales.

Yet federal regulators have delayed or failed to adopt measures designed to reduce deaths and injuries from acetaminophen overdose,which the agency calls a “persistent, important public health problem.”

The FDA has repeatedly deferred decisions on consumer protection seven when they were...

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What is Total Worker Health™?

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.cdc.gov

Total Worker Health™ is a strategy integrating occupational safety and health protection with health promotion to prevent worker injury and illness and to advance health and well-being.

Today, emerging evidence recognizes that both work-related factors and health factors beyond the workplace jointly contribute to many health and safety problems that confront today’s workers and their families. Traditionally, workplace health and safety programs have been compartmentalized. Health protection programs have focused squarely on safety, reducing worker exposures to risk factors arising in the work environment itself. And most workplace health promotion programs have focused exclusively on lifestyle factors off-the-job that place workers at risk. A growing body of science supports the effectiveness of combining these efforts through workplace interventions that integrate health protection and health promotion programs.

In June 2011, NIOSH launched the Total Worker Health™ (TWH™) Program as an evolution of the NIOSH Steps to a Healthier US. Workforce and the NIOSH WorkLife Initiatives, TWH™ is defined as a strategy integrating occupational safety and health protection with health promotion to prevent worker injury and illness and to advance worker health and well-being. The TWH™ Program supports the development and adoption of ground-breaking research and best practices of integrative approaches that address health risk from both the work...

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Monday, September 23, 2013

State Politics and the Fate of the Safety Net

Lacking workers' compensation coverage, injured workers rely upon a safety net of Federally provided medical benefits. Under the Affordable Care Act that safety net is shrinking. Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.nejm.org

Only 2% of acute care hospitals nationwide are safety-net facilities, but they provide 20% of uncompensated care to the uninsured. Because most are in low-income communities, they typically generate scant revenue from privately insured patients. The Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program was established to help defray their costs for uncompensated care.

Currently, Medicaid DSH disburses $11.5 billion annually to the states, which have considerable latitude in allocating these funds. Some states carefully target their DSH payments to hospitals providing large volumes of uncompensated care, but others, such as Ohio and Georgia, spread their payments broadly, transforming the program into a de facto subsidy of their hospital industry.

Because the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was expected to dramatically expand insurance coverage, safety-net hospitals were expected to need less DSH money. Therefore, to reduce the cost of expanding Medicaid, the ACA reduced Medicaid DSH funding by $18.1 billion between fiscal years 2014 and 2020. To allow time for coverage expansion to take effect, the cuts are back-loaded — starting at $500 million (4% of current national DSH spending) in 2014 but reaching $5.6 billion (49% of current spending) in 2019.

The DSH cuts are so deep in part because Congress assumed that all...

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It's Complicated: Obamacare's Choices for People with Disabilities (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Law Will Shift Demographics For Medicaid Toward Healthier Group, Study Finds (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Hacking the Affordable Care Act (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Walmart CEO Mike Duke Pushes Back Against Company's Minimum Wage Reputation (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
The Trend to Supersize Hospitals (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Medicare To Punish 2,225 Hospitals For Excess Readmissions (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Tribunal finds Chevron not liable for environmental claims in Ecuador

Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

Chevron Corp. announced Wednesday that an international arbitration tribunal has found the company not liable for environmental claims in Ecuador.

The tribunal is convened under the authority of the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty, also known as the BIT, and administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The PCA, located in The Hague, Netherlands, administers cases arising out of international treaties and other agreements to arbitrate.

On Tuesday, the tribunal issued a partial award in favor of Chevron and its subsidiary, Texaco Petroleum Company, or TexPet.

The tribunal found that the settlement and release agreements that the government of Ecuador entered into with TexPet released TexPet and its affiliates of any liability for all public interest or collective environmental claims.

The arbitration stems from Ecuador’s interference in the ongoing environmental lawsuit against the company.

“The game is up. This award by an eminent international tribunal confirms that the fraudulent claims against Chevron should not have been brought in the first place,” Hewitt Pate, Chevron’s vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. “It is now beyond question that efforts by American plaintiffs lawyers and the government of Ecuador to enforce this fraudulent judgment violate Ecuadorian, U.S. and international law.

“Continuing to support this fraud only increases the government of...

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N.Y. AG announces order against major tobacco companies (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Chevron pleads no contest to criminal charges stemming from Richmond refinery fire (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Federal arbitration board orders FEMA to pay New Orleans Katrina responders (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
BP claims investigation finds attorney took $40K kickback in exchange for expediting nearly $8M claim (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Garlock testimony switches to financial liability (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Fla. appeals court says $33M in damages to smoker's widow not excessive (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
9th Circuit Vacates MSP Injunction Against CMS for Medicare Reimbursement (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Breathe Deep....on the airplane OR not?

Welcome sulfur dioxide,

Hello carbon monoxide

The air, the air is everywhere

Breathe deep, while you sleep, breathe deep

Lyrics from HAIR, The Broadway show

This post is shared from OH-world.org.

A review of chemical exposures associated with "fume events" on aircraft hears about two UK studies that found low levels of organophosphate contamination.

I attended a meeting of the UK Committee on Toxicity (COT) of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment to discuss our work on oil contamination in aircraft. This was one of a number of projects that were commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) following an earlier review, which included: a pilot study to scope methods for measuring air concentrations, analysis of data on the occurrence of fume events in British commercial aircraft, the main study measuring contaminant levels in cabin air and our study of residues on surfaces in aircraft.

Back in 2007 the COT reviewed information submitted by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) about the possible effects on aircrew health from hydraulic fluid smoke/fume contamination incidents in commercial aircraft. These incidents occur infrequently because of small leaks in the engine, which result in a very fine oil mist being carried into the aircraft ventilation system. A key concern is the small amounts of organophosphate compounds present in the hydraulic oils. In their review the COT concluded there was insufficient evidence to show there was a causal association between cabin air exposures, either generally or following incidents, and ill-health in commercial aircraft crews.

Read more:

Oil contamination in aircraftA review of chemical exposures associated with "fume events" on aircraft hears about two UK studies that found low levels of organophosphate contamination.http://johncherrie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/oil-contamination-in-aircraft.html

CMS Publishes Rules to MSP Payments Under the SMART Act

Medicare has published proposed Rules to governor obtaining information concerning the conditional payments as required by the recently implemented SMART Act. The Regulations expand the bureaucratic framework for Medicare beneficiaries and their representatives in order to obtain and appeal information on condition payment demands from the government.

The Rules are effective on November 10, 2013 and the comment period closes at 5pm on that date.

The government will be establishing a multifactorial implementation process to keep information secure: DX Codes, provider names. dates of service and conditional payment amounts. Ultimately, it appears that the process will be yet another hurdle to obtain information for workers' compensation claims and release the beneficiary from government liability for medical expenses.

The proposed CMS Rules can be reviewed at: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/09/20/2013-22934/medicare-program-obtaining-final-medicare-secondary-payer-conditional-payment-amounts-via-web-portal

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 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 accidents and illnesses.

US Supreme Court Asked to Review MSP Preemption Issue (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
9th Circuit Vacates MSP Injunction Against CMS for Medicare Reimbursement (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Medicare To Punish 2,225 Hospitals For Excess Readmissions (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
The Public and the Conflict over Future Medicare Spending (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Democrats Jump on the 'Death Panel' Bandwagon (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Closing arguments in Calif. lead paint trial take place Monday

Lead poisoning and lead expose is widespread. A vast number of cases of lead exposure flow from the lead pigment that was placed by the paint industry into paint. The residuals of the lead paint remain in place in many public and private buildings exposing both workers' and children to lead exposure and the resulting lead disease. Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

In the high stakes lead paint public nuisance case culminating in Santa Clara County Superior Court, both sides will make closing arguments Monday before Judge James Kleinberg.

The 10 city and county plaintiffs — Santa Clara County, San Francisco City, Alameda County, Los Angeles County, Monterey County, Oakland City, San Diego City, San Mateo County, Solano County and Ventura County — are expected to argue they have met a burden of proving their case by a preponderance of evidence.
Among other things, a team of attorneys for the plaintiffs will argue that the five defendant companies knew or should have known about the hazards created by the use of lead paint in homes, but promoted it anyway.

They seek abatement in approximately 500,000 pre-1978 built homes in the jurisdictions and estimate the cost at $1.6 billion for inspection and abatement if the public entities implement the program. Plaintiffs say it would cost $2.4 billion if implemented by the defendants.

Their plan calls for the creation of a fund administered by the public entities.
Defendant companies — Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries, ConAgra Grocery Products, DuPont and Atlantic Richfield Company — are expected to fiercely defend their position, saying plaintiffs did not meet a necessary test set forth by the state’s Sixth District Court of Appeal.
The paint companies will argue that the Sixth District allowed the 13-year-old case...

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Plaintiffs in Calif. lead paint case say companies' witnesses were 'not persuasive' (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Sides rest in Calif. lead paint trial (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Plaintiffs' expert in lead paint trial says industry took responsibility for public health (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Lots of data to process for Calif. lead paint judge (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Calif. judge denies Sherwin Williams motion in lead paint trial (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Plaintiffs' expert says lead paint abatement could cost $1.4 billion (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Lead paint manufacturers facing California challenge (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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TEPCO Official: Fukushima is Out of Control

International corporate responsibility for worker safety has worldwide ramifications. Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.commondreams.org

Fukushima nuclear plant in the immediate aftermath of Japan's March 2011 tsunami "I’m sorry, but we consider the situation is not under control."

Those were the words of Kazuhiko Yamashita, executive-level fellow for Fukushima plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company when he was pressed by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
His statements directly contradict the claims of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, who assured the International Olympic Committee meeting in Buenos Aires Saturday that the situation is under control.

TEPCO officials moved quickly to cover Yamashita's tracks, releasing a statement Friday declaring

"...It is our understanding that the Prime Minister intended his statement ‘the situation is under control’ to mean that the impact of radioactive materials is limited to the area within the port of the power station, and that the densities of radioactive materials on the surrounding waters are far below the referential densities and have not been on continuous upward trends. According to this understanding, we share the same views.

Yet, all evidence suggests that the crisis is far beyond the current abilities of the Japanese government and operator TEPCO to contain it.

Each day brings new disasters, with fresh reports on Friday that steam is billowing from a reactor. Radiation levels at the plant were found to be 18 times higher than TEPCO previously claimed, climbing to a high of 1800 millisieverts per hour—enough to kill...

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Radiation Near Japanese Plant's Tanks Suggests New Leaks (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Fukushima radiation levels spike, company says (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Nuclear Operator Raises Alarm on Crisis (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Workers compensation rates to decline in Oregon in 2014 (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Long Overdue Silica Dust Rule Issued, Final Action Must Be Swift, Says Trumka (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Exxon Mobil subsidiary charged for wastewater spill in Pennsylvania (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
More than 1,100 have cancer after 9/11 (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Home Care Workers Win Wage and Overtime Protection

Improving workers' compensation benefits begins with improving wages.Today's post was shared by votersinjuredatwork and comes from www.calaborfed.org

Nearly 2 million home care workers—the vast majority of whom are women—take care of the elderly and people with disabilities, often working 12-hour days and 60 to 70 hours a week. Now, for the first time since 1975, most of these workers will have the wage and overtime protection of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) under a new rule issued today by the Obama administration’s Department of Labor.

Since they were exempted from the FLSA nearly four decades ago, home care workers seldom have been paid overtime and their net income is often less than the minimum wage, considering time spent in travel between the homes where they work in a single day and its cost. Unlike workers covered by federal labor laws, they have not been paid for all the hours they are on the clock.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the new rule:

"...finally recognizes the value of the work done by hundreds of thousands of people who take care of our aging parents, as well as our sisters, brothers and children with disabilities….Today’s action will not only benefit the largely female, minority and low-wage workers who provide these essential services, it will help to ensure an adequate supply of home care workers as demand grows, reduce turnover and improve quality, permitting more Americans who wish to stay in their own homes as they grow old or experience disability to do so.

Secretary of Labor Thomas...

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Many States Look to Raise Minimum Wage (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
In California, Renewed Debate Over Home Care (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Misclassification - Department of Labor Recovery (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Modern Families and Worker Protections (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Mexican Consulate, Labor Dept. Partner On Worker Protection (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Minimum wage in California to be $10 an hour (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Kaiser Permanente, Unions Launch New Employee Wellness Program

Organized Labor is improving worker health by encouraging wellness program, a counterbalance to the erosion of workers' compensation pre-existing disease limitations. Today's post was shared by votersinjuredatwork and comes from www.californiahealthline.org

Kaiser Permanente and the 29 unions that represent its employees in California and eight other regions have teamed up to offer incentive payments to groups of workers who improve their health, the Sacramento Bee reports.

Details of Program

Under the voluntary program, Kaiser's 133,000 workers could earn up to $500 each if participants in their region collectively:

Lose weight;
Lower blood pressure;
Lower cholesterol; and
Stop smoking.

All employees -- even those who choose not to participate -- will be eligible for payouts if:

75% of workers in their region complete an online health survey, which would earn $150 incentive payments for all employees in that region;
85% of workers in their region update their baseline screenings for weight, smoking, cholesterol and blood pressure, which would earn $150 payments for all workers in that region; and
There is an average 1.7% improvement and no declines across such measures by December 2014, which would earn $200 for all employees in that region.

The program does not apply to doctors, dentists and executives, but it does include both union and non-union employees.
Kaiser will issue all payouts in 2015. The total cost of the program could reach $66.5 million, according to the Bee.

Comments From Kaiser

Kathy Gerwig -- vice president of employee safety, health and wellness at Kaiser -- said the program is "very inclusive of everybody" and will "drive the culture toward healthier work environments and camaraderie around getting healthier."
She...

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National Labor Relations Board Launches Mobile App (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Will Labor's Marriage With Industry Result in A Major Workers' Compensation Opt-Out Movement? (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
It's Complicated: Obamacare's Choices for People with Disabilities (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
How Wal-Mart keeps wages low (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Health Law Adds New Expense For Farmers: Insurance For Field Workers (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Medicare To Punish 2,225 Hospitals For Excess Readmissions (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Bangladesh workers must continue to wait for full compensation

Fashion Safety continues to dominate international news and reflects that the movement that the workers' compenstion sparked by the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Fire cannot be rekindled. Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.industriall-union.org

Eleven of the brands and retailers sourcing from the factories involved in the Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters joined high-level compensation meetings, facilitated by the ILO as a neutral chair, on 11-12 September in Geneva. Many other major companies failed to attend, showing total contempt for the 1,900 workers who were injured and the families of over 1,200 workers who were killed making their products.

IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary Monika Kemperle stated: “Consumers will be shocked that almost a half-year has passed since the Rana Plaza disaster with only one brand so far providing any compensation to the disaster’s victims. I respect those brands that came to these meetings. But I cannot understand brands that are not around the table.”

Regarding Rana Plaza out of a total of 29 brands that were invited the following 9 brands showed good faith by attending the meeting: Bon Marché, Camaieu, El Corte Ingles, Kik, Loblaw, Mascot, Matalan, Primark and Store Twenty One.

20 other companies, all of whom were invited, failed to show up: Adler, Auchan, Benetton, C&A, Carrefour, Cato Corp, The Children’s Place, Dressbarn, Essenza, FTA International, Gueldenpfennig, Iconix Brand, Inditex, JC Penney, Kids Fashion Group, LPP, Mango, Manifattura Corona, NKD, Premier Clothing, PWT Group, Texman and Walmart.

IndustriALL, the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) presented a proposed...

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Bangladesh Building Collapse Highlights Need for Safety Inspections (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Doing Business in Bangladesh (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Workers compensation rates to decline in Oregon in 2014 (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Report Recommends Raising Workers' Compensation Premiums (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Workers' Compensation Benefits, Employer Costs Rise with Economic Recovery (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Parma considering following Cleveland in suing Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation over inflated premiums (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Powerful New Videos Encourage Those Who Qualify to Seek Care through the World Trade Center Health Program

Many victims of the 9-11 World Trade Center terorist attack have not yet sought medical care nor filed a claim for benefits. Today's post was shared by Safe Healthy Workers and comes from blogs.cdc.gov

Glenn, a retired New York City police officer, shares how the World Trade Center Health Program helped him regain his health.

Though the September 11th attacks were over a decade ago, thousands of people who were in the affected areas continue to experience physical and mental health symptoms as a result of their experience in the days, months, and even years following 9/11. They may not recognize that some cancers, a chronic cough, difficulty sleeping, or frequent heartburn that they— or their children— experience could be a 9/11 related health condition.

NIOSH is teaming up with our community partners to spread the word that help is available through the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program. Created by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, the WTC Health Program provides medical monitoring and treatment for responders at the World Trade Center and related sites in New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA, and for survivors who were in the New York City disaster area. All care for covered conditions is provided at no out of pocket costs for those who qualify.

The WTC Health Program has helped thousands regain their health following the September 11^th terrorist attacks. This year the Program is launching a digital campaign to make sure that those who may qualify for care, but are not enrolled, get the help they need and deserve. The campaign features videos of members telling their stories. Both responders and survivors describe...

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More than 1,100 have cancer after 9/11 (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Feds add prostate cancer to list of 9/11 health-related conditions (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Deadline for Filing 9-11 Claims Approaches - Cancer Claims Soar (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Why Health Care Is Stuck - And How to Fix It (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Health Spending Over The Coming Decade Expected To Exceed Economic Growth (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Health Care Spending Will Peak Around 2025 and Then Flatten Out (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
NJ Court Sets the Evidentiary Proof Standard for a Pulmonary - Cardiovascular Claim (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

Poor Diet Of Shift Workers An "Occupational Health Hazard"

Today's post was shared by Safe Healthy Workers and comes from www.medicalnewstoday.com

The editors of a leading journal suggest that the poor diet of shift workers should be considered an occupational health hazard. They argue that working patterns should be treated as a specific risk factor for obesity and type 2 diabetes, which have reached epidemic proportions in the developed world, with the developing world not far behind.

With reference to studies published in earlier issues of the journal, that show links between increased risk in type 2 diabetes and shift work patterns in American nurses, Dr Virginia Barbour, chief editor of the journal PLoS Medicine and her fellow editors make a case in this month's edition for classing unhealthy eating as a new form of occupational hazard, especially in those workplaces that employ shift workers, whose easy access to junk food compared to healthier options just makes it harder to keep to a good diet.

Shift work is common in both the developed and the developing world. About 15 to 20% of workers in Europe and the US work shifts, many of them in the health care industry.
As the world moves more toward the 24/7 pattern of "open all hours", shift work will become even more common than this, and if the data from studies cited in their...

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Unpaid wages in Saveh Rolling and Profile Mills Company (redflag2.wordpress.com)
Night Shift Work Causally Linked to an Increase in Breast Cancer (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
How Dangerous is the Night Shift? (drvitelli.typepad.com)
The Effects of Shift Work on Sleeping Quality, Hypertension and Diabetes in Retired Workers (plosone.org)
Working the night shift may cause cancer (mysafetysign.com)
A Victory for Silica Dust Exposed Workers? (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
The Importance of Occupational Safety and Health: Making for a "Super" Workplace (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
American Thoracic Society Welcomes OSHA's Proposed Lower Silica Exposure Standard (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

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Copyright

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

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Monday, September 23, 2013

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Sunday, September 22, 2013

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Details of Program

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

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