Workers' Compensation

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Republic Steel reach comprehensive settlement agreement over safety and health violations

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that Republic Steel has agreed to settle alleged health and safety violations at the company's facilities in Lorain, Canton and Massillon, Ohio, as well as Blasdell, N.Y. The comprehensive settlement, in which the company agrees to abate all cited hazards and implement numerous safeguards to prevent future injuries, addresses more than 100 safety and health violations found by OSHA at the company's facilities during inspections conducted in the fall of 2013. The agreement also resolves contested citations from two previous inspections regarding a June 2013 arc flash incident at the Lorain facility and a case alleging numerous fall hazards at the company's Canton facility that OSHA issued in August of 2013.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Republic Steel has agreed to pay $2.4 million, and has further agreed on additional penalty amounts in the event there is a determination of substantial non-compliance with the agreement. The company has agreed to abate all safety and health hazards identified by OSHA, including willful and serious violations for failure to provide required fall protection, failure to implement lockout/tag out procedures to protect workers who service or maintain machines, and failure to provide machine guarding to protect workers from hazardous machinery.

In addition to abating the cited hazards, Republic Steel has agreed to several additional measures to improve compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and better protect its employees. Republic Steel will: hire additional safety and health staff; conduct internal safety and health inspections with representatives of the United Steelworkers; establish and implement a comprehensive safety and health management program to identify and correct hazardous working conditions; hire third-party auditors to assure that hazards are identified and improvements are made; and meet quarterly with OSHA staff to assure implementation of this agreement.

OSHA initiated the inspections last fall in response to a serious injury after an employee fell through the roof of a building at the Lorain plant. OSHA expanded its inspections to all Republic Steel's facilities under the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

"By agreeing to the terms of this settlement, Republic Steel has demonstrated a commitment to change its culture, invest in its employees, and work with OSHA and the United Steelworkers to make significant changes at its facilities that will improve the safety and health of its workers," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "The Labor Department looks forward to working with Republic Steel to ensure that it lives up to its commitment to improve workplace safety."

In addition to improvements noted, Republic Steel has agreed to several key changes in the management of its safety and health program, including:
reviewing and improving plant procedures to ensure OSHA compliance with machine guarding, control of hazardous energy (lockout/tag out), fall protection, personal protective equipment and other critical safety procedures;
implementing an electronic tracking system for identifying hazards/near misses, injuries and illnesses reported by workers;
mailing a letter to workers' families detailing the company's commitment to health and safety;
providing a card to employees informing them of the right to refuse to perform work that they reasonably and in good faith believe is unsafe or unhealthful without fear of being disciplined; and
providing supplemental training for all production and maintenance employees, including managers.

"The terms of this agreement to improve conditions and training are unprecedented," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. "The company has committed to supporting extensive worker participation, an important role for the joint health and safety committee, and implementation of a comprehensive safety and health program to better protect Republic Steel employees."

A copy of the settlement agreement is available at http://www.osha.gov/CWSA/RepublicSteel05012014.pdf. The agreement's Appendix A is available at http://www.osha.gov/CWSA/RepublicSteel05012014AppendixA.pdf and its Appendix B is available at http://www.osha.gov/CWSA/RepublicSteel05012014AppendixB.pdf.

States fear losing power to regulate chemicals

Today's post was shared by FairWarning and comes from bigstory.ap.org

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation to create national standards for regulating chemicals has generated opposition from some states, who fear the bill would curtail their authority to take action against chemicals they deem harmful.
The GOP-authored draft legislation, which aims to reform regulation of chemicals, would pre-empt some state and local regulations.
At a House hearing Tuesday, Massachusetts state Sen. Michael Moore, a Democrat, said the legislation would impose a "one-size-fits-all approach to toxic chemicals regulation."
"To strip states' residents of protections enacted by their elected officials would be a serious breach of state sovereignty and would leave everyone more susceptible to increased harm from toxic chemicals," said Moore, speaking on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Earlier this month, attorneys general from 13 states, led by New York's Eric T. Schneiderman, made a similar argument in a letter to leaders of the House Energy and Commerce environment and economy subcommittee, which held the hearing.
Subcommittee chairman John Shimkus, R-Ill., who wrote the bill, argued it's necessary to create a standard where chemicals are regulated under one set of rules, rather than a "patchwork" of different state regulations. A committee fact sheet calls the measure "a commerce bill, not just a chemical safety bill. The U.S. economy is heavily reliant on chemicals, and a strong regulatory system is needed...

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Nail salon UV lamps: Are they safe?

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

A typical salon manicure involves drying freshly painted nails under a lamp that emits ultraviolet-A (UV-A) rays -- a spectrum of light long linked to skin cancers.
But a new study suggests that the average visit to a nail salon carries little carcinogenic potential.
"Considering the low UV-A energy exposure in an average manicure visit, multiple visits would be required to reach the threshold for potential DNA damage" that might spur cancer, wrote a team reporting their findings April 30 in JAMA Dermatology.
In the study, researchers led by Dr. Lyndsay Shipp of the department of dermatology at Georgia Regents University, in Augusta, say that prior studies into the use of UV-emitting nail polish drying lamps have not had sufficient rigor to come to any reliable conclusions.
In their study, Shipp's team used high-tech meters to measure the UV-A light exposures upon hands held in various positions under 17 different types of drying lamps. The researchers conducted the study at 16 nail salons.
First of all, they said, there were "notable differences" in the amount of UV-A light emitted by the various devices, and the amount of exposure to the hands also varied depending on the positioning of the device.
Overall, a single nail polish drying session under one of the lamps would not expose a person to a potentially cancer-causing amount of UV-A light, Shipp's team said, and "even with numerous exposures, the risk for carcinogenesis remains small."
Still,...

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Endo to Pay $830 Million to Settle Majority of Vaginal Mesh Legal Claims

Today's post was shared by FairWarning and comes from online.wsj.com

Endo Health Solutions Inc. disclosed it intends to pay about $830 million pretax to settle a "substantial majority" of legal claims that alleged vaginal mesh inserts led to injuries.
Endo and other medical manufacturers have been hit with lawsuits after injuries linked to vaginal mesh inserts raised safety concerns. Vaginal mesh products are intended to treat pelvic organ prolapse as well as urinary incontinence.
Endo entered the market after its 2011 acquisition of urology-product unit American Medical Systems Holding Inc., which manufacturers the products.
On Wednesday, Endo said the settlement would resolve about 20,000 claims related to the vaginal mesh products sold by American Medical.
The agreements are not an admission of liability or fault, Endo said, adding individual plaintiffs' law firms must fulfill certain requirements to receive a portion of the settlement, including verification of an implant and other pertinent medical records.
Endo previously established a product liability reserve of about $520 million in connection with the pending claims at the time. Based on the settlement agreements announced on Wednesday, the company said it would incur an incremental pretax, noncash charge of about $625 million in the first quarter of this year, increasing the liability accrual to about $1.1 billion.
The company expects total accrual payments to occur throughout 2016.
Shares of Endo, which is due to release first-quarter results on May 1, were unchanged after...

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L.A. has worst air quality: American Lung Assn.

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

Los Angeles has again topped a list of the cities with the worst smog in the nation, violating federal health standards for ozone an average of 122 days a year.
The annual air pollution rankings, being released Wednesday by the American Lung Assn., were dominated by the Los Angeles Basin and California's Central Valley, which despite vast improvements over the last few decades still have the nation's highest levels of ozone and fine particle pollution.
"Air pollution is not just a nuisance or the haze we see on the horizon; it's literally putting our health in danger," said Bonnie Holmes-Gen, senior policy director of the American Lung Assn. in California. "We've come a long way, but the status quo is not acceptable."
The report evaluated metropolitan areas based on recorded levels of ozone, the main ingredient in smog, and conducted a separate analysis of fine particles — or soot — the microscopic pollutants that tend to build up in colder, winter months.
The Los Angeles region ranked fourth among metropolitan areas nationwide for short-term spikes in fine particle pollution, coming in behind Fresno, Visalia and Bakersfield. The L.A. Basin tied for third with Bakersfield for annual fine particle concentrations.
The nonprofit advocacy group's "State of the Air" report derives its rankings from publicly reported measurements of ozone and fine particle pollution from official monitoring sites. Analysts used data from 2010, 2011 and 2012 and...

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Millionaires Unite to Defeat Minimum Wage

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.newyorker.com

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) - A broad-based coalition of millionaires converged on Washington today to defeat a bill that would have increased the minimum wage for American workers to $10.10 an hour.
Leaving behind their mansions and yachts, the millionaires were motivated by what they saw as an existential threat to the country, Mitch McConnell, a spokesman for the millionaires, said.
“This was an extremely diverse coalition,” McConnell said, noting that everyone from the rich to the very rich to the super-rich united to vote down the bill.
McConnell hoped that today’s vote would burnish the millionaires’ reputation as “people who get things done.”
“Folks who have tried to pin a ‘do nothing’ label on us are dead wrong,” he said. “When it comes to stopping workers from being paid more, we spring into action.”
Get news satire from The Borowitz Report delivered to your inbox.
Photograph by J. Scott Applewhite/AP.

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First US MERS patient worked in Saudi Arabia healthcare

A person who recently worked in healthcare in Saudi Arabia and fell ill after flying to the United States on Apr 24 has the first confirmed US case of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus), federal health officials announced today while asserting that there is very little risk to the public.
The patient, who was not identified, was admitted to Community Hospital in Munster, Ind., on Apr 28, tested positive for MERS this afternoon, and is in stable condition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced. To protect the patient's family, the CDC did not reveal the person's gender, age, or whether he or she is a US or Saudi resident.
"The first importation of MERS-CoV infection represents a very low risk to the general public," said Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, at a press teleconference this afternoon. "The virus has not shown an ability to spread easily."
The case comes amid a major increase in MERS illnesses in Saudi Arabia over the past several weeks, including many in healthcare workers (HCWs). Riyadh is one of the cities that have had many recent cases, along with Jeddah.
"We do not have any reports of any other patients ill with MERS-CoV in this investigation. But it's a very active investigation and very early," said Schuchat.

From Riyadh to London to Chicago

The patient flew on Apr 24 from Riyadh to London and on to Chicago, then took a...

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Thursday, May 1, 2014

MisLead: America's Secret Epidemic

America continues to be MisLead about the epidemic of lead paint poisoning. This movie expands upon the recent successful trial against the lead paint pigment industry in California, and explains why the taxpayers are paying the estimated costs of over $50 Billion each year as a result of impairments and disabilities flowing from on going lead contamination.

"MisLEAD: America’s Secret Epidemic is the first documentary film that undertakes an intellectually rigorous, emotionally compelling and illuminating inquiry into a hidden epidemic that impacts one in three American children today. Tamara Rubin, an Oregon mother whose children were poisoned, travels the country talking with parents and top experts across many fields—uncovering surprising answers."

Click here to read more about this incredible movie.

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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.

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Why older workers are still wanted in the office

Today's post was shared by CRR Boston College and comes from finance.yahoo.com

The number of older employees is proliferating in the workplace. In 2000, about 1 in 8 American workers were older than age 55, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2010, that number had jumped to about 1 in 5. And the bureau projects that this age group will comprise a full quarter of the labor force in 2020.
So what's going on here? It's not all driven by boomers wanting to stay on the job for this reason or that. Some of it's coming from higher demand. Research shows that, as the nature of work changes, some employers are developing programs to retain or recruit workers old enough to retire. And they're showing their appreciation where it counts: Wages for older workers are heading north, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
And those enduring myths about older folks -- they aren't productive, they haven't kept up with industry changes, they're just marking time -- are falling by the wayside.

Myths and realities of older workers

At a recent conference on the aging workforce, the National Council on Rehabilitation Education, or NCRE, identified seven long-standing myths about aging workers. They are: technologically inept, slow learners, low-level performers, lacking creativity, not very motivated, less flexible and adaptable, and fear change.
"We're finding these are not necessarily true," says Susanne M. Bruyere, director of the Employment and Disability...

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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Lead-Paint Decision: Providing A Safer Place for Children

Judge Orders Lead Paint Companies to Pay $1.15 Billion into State Fund to Clean Affected Homes
Today's post about lead paint contamination and the victory for children, workers and their families in Califronia is shared from publicjustice.net

When Nathaniel Stone moved into an Oakland, Calif. apartment with his 2-month-old son Antonio, he said he was simply looking for a place where the two could “lay our heads.”
He never considered the possibility that their home could contain lead paint. But, like many other California homes, the toxin was buried just under the surface of its walls, windowsills and floorboards.
Their apartment was austere—a run-down structure with nails sticking through the carpet. In an effort to protect Antonio from the dangers underfoot, Stone kept his son on a bed against a decaying wall. As the baby toyed with peeling paint, he was also consuming a huge amount of lead particles.
Stone isn’t sure how long Antonio was exposed to the toxin, but looking back, he said he noticed that his once-quiet boy had become fussy. Nothing Stone said elicited a response from Antonio, and Stone said he occasionally raised his voice in frustration.
What he didn’t realize was that the lead poisoning had caused Antonio to lose his hearing. The guilt from that realization was, for Stone, the worst part of the ordeal.
“I felt like I had punished him for something he didn’t know he did,” he said.
When doctors...

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Monday, April 28, 2014

Missing Ingredient on Minimum Wage: A Motivated G.O.P.

Today's post was shared by The New York Times and comes from www.nytimes.com

WASHINGTON — Each of the three previous presidents — two Republicans, one Democrat — signed an increase in the federal minimum wage.

Given Mr. Obama’s emphasis on income inequality, and the popularity of an increase in opinion polls, you would think he would. But the story of recent increases underscores the indispensable ingredient he so far lacks: a Republican leader strongly motivated to make a deal over the party’s philosophical objections.

In 1989, it was a new Republican in the White House. President George Bush, while campaigning to succeed Ronald Reagan, had promised “a kinder, gentler America.” The Democrats then controlling both houses of Congress set out to take him up on it.

Mr. Bush drove a hard bargain on the minimum wage. He vetoed the first version Congress sent on grounds that it raised the wage by 30 cents an hour too much. But he eventually accepted a two-stage increase to $4.25 an hour on the condition that lawmakers include a lower “training wage” for teenagers.

President Bill Clinton and the Republican former Senate leader Trent Lott in 2009, 13 years after they forged agreement on a minimum-wage increase.

In 1996, it was a new Republican Senate leader. Trent Lott took over after Bob Dole, then running for president against the incumbent Democrat, Bill Clinton, resigned his Senate seat.

Mr. Clinton, who had battled fiercely with the House speaker, Newt Gingrich, and Mr. Dole,...

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US EPA Seeks Input About Lead Contamination in Public and Commercial Buildings

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting small businesses to participate as consultants for a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel as the agency considers steps to reduce lead based paint exposure from the renovation, repair, and painting of public and commercial buildings as required by section 402(c)(3) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The SBAR Panel is being established pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and will include representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and EPA. The Panel will ask a selected group of Small Entity Representatives (SERs) to provide advice and recommendations on behalf of their company, community, or organization to inform the Panel on impacts of a proposed rule on small entities involved in the renovation, repair, and painting of public and commercial buildings. SER panelists may participate via telephone or webinar, as well as in person.

EPA seeks self-nominations directly from the small businesses, small governments and small organizations that may be subject to the rule requirements to facilitate the selection of SERs. An entity is eligible to be a SER if it will be directly subject to the particular proposed regulation under development and meets one of the SBA’s definitions http://www.sba.gov/content/table-small-business-size-standards
to qualify as a small entity.

EPA encourages the actual owners or operators of small businesses, community officials, and representatives of non-profit organizations to participate in this process. However, a person from a trade association that exclusively or primarily represents potentially regulated small entities may also serve as a SER.

Self-nominations may be submitted through the link below and must be received by May 9, 2014.

To nominate yourself, visit: How can I get Involved: http://www.epa.gov/rfa/lead-pncb.html

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Sunday, April 27, 2014

Presidential Proclamation -- Workers Memorial Day, 2014

WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY, 2014

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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

America is built on the promise of opportunity. We believe that everyone should have a chance to succeed, that what matters is the strength of our work ethic, the scope of our dreams, and our willingness to take responsibility for ourselves and each other. Yet each year, workplace illness and injury threaten that promise for millions of Americans, and even more tragically, thousands die on the job. This is unacceptable. On Workers Memorial Day, we honor those we have lost, and in their memory, affirm everyone's right to a safe workplace.

With grit and determination, the American labor force has propelled our Nation through times of hardship and war, and it laid the foundation for tremendous economic growth. Workers risked life and limb to turn the gears of the Industrial Revolution, raise our first skyscrapers, and lay railroad track that connected our country from coast to coast. The injured, as well as families of the dead, received little or no compensation.

It was only after decades of organizing, unionizing, and public pressure that workers won many of the rights we take for granted today. Finally, with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Federal Government required employers to provide basic safety equipment. Just 1 year prior, the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 established comprehensive safety and health standards for coal mines, increased Federal enforcement powers, and provided compensation to miners with black lung.

My Administration remains dedicated to building on this progress. We are improving standards to protect workers from black lung and reduce their exposure to dangerous substances. We are helping employers provide safe workplaces and holding those who risk workers' lives and health accountable. And we are empowering workers with information so they can stay safe on the job.

We must never accept that injury, illness, or death is the cost of doing business. Workers are the backbone of our economy, and no one's prosperity should come at the expense of their safety. Today, let us celebrate our workers by upholding their basic right to clock out and return home at the end of each shift.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28, 2014, as Workers Memorial Day. I call upon all Americans to participate in ceremonies and activities in memory of those killed or injured due to unsafe working conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.

BARACK OBAMA

Seven Acre Site along the Passaic River Contaminated with PCBs and Volatile Organic Compounds

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added the Riverside Industrial Park in Newark, New Jersey to the Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most hazardous waste sites. After a 2009 spill of oily material from the industrial park into the Passaic River, the EPA discovered that chemicals, including benzene, mercury, chromium and arsenic, were improperly stored at the site. The agency took emergency actions to prevent further release of these chemicals into the river. Further investigation showed that soil, ground water and tanks at the Riverside Industrial Park are contaminated with volatile organic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Benzene, mercury, chromium and arsenic are all highly toxic and can cause serious damage to people’s health and the environment. Many volatile organic compounds are known to cause cancer in animals and can cause cancer in people. Polychlorinated biphenyls are chemicals that persist in the environment and can affect the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems and are potentially cancer-causing.

EPA proposed the site to the Superfund list in September 2012 and encouraged the public to comment during a 60-day public comment period. After considering public comments and receiving the support of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for listing the site, the EPA is putting it on the Superfund list.

“The EPA has kept people out of immediate danger from this contaminated industrial park and can now develop long-term plans to protect the community,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “By adding the site to the Superfund list, the EPA can do the extensive investigation needed to determine the best ways to clean up the contamination and protect public health.”

Since the early 1900s, the Riverside Industrial Park, at 29 Riverside Avenue in Newark, has been used by many businesses, including a paint manufacturer, a packaging company and a chemical warehouse. The site covers approximately seven acres and contains a variety of industrial buildings, some of which are vacant. In 2009, at the request of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the EPA responded to an oil spill on the Passaic River that was eventually traced to the Riverside Avenue site. The state and the city of Newark requested the EPA’s help in assessing the contamination at the site and performing emergency actions to identify and stop the source of the spill.

The EPA plugged discharge pipes from several buildings and two tanks that were identified as the source of the contamination. In its initial assessment of the site, the EPA also found ten abandoned 12,000 to 15,000 gallon underground storage tanks containing hazardous waste, approximately one hundred 3,000 to 10,000 gallon aboveground storage tanks, two tanks containing oily waste, as well as dozens of 55-gallon drums and smaller containers. These containers held a variety of hazardous industrial waste and solvents. Two underground tanks and most of the other containers were removed by the EPA in 2012.

The EPA periodically proposes sites to the Superfund list and, after responding to public comments, designates them as final Superfund sites. The Superfund final designation makes them eligible for funds to conduct long-term cleanups.

The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. After sites are placed on the Superfund list of the most contaminated waste sites, the EPA searches for parties responsible for the contamination and holds them accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups. The search for the parties responsible for the contamination at the Riverside Industrial Park site is ongoing.

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Saturday, May 3, 2014

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From Riyadh to London to Chicago

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Thursday, May 1, 2014

Myths and realities of older workers

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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Monday, April 28, 2014

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Sunday, April 27, 2014