Analysis of US EPA's Draft Risk Evaluation for Formaldehyde and Worker Health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) draft risk evaluation of formaldehyde, released on March 15, 2024, raises significant concerns for worker health and worker compensation risk exposure.

Federal Joint Study on Workplace Violence Released

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released Indicators of Workplace Violence, 2019, which provides findings on fatal and nonfatal crimes that occurred in the workplace or away from work but over work-related issues. Findings are presented for 13 indicators of workplace violence, using data from five federal data collections.

New Laws in NJ Are a Step to Reduce Gun Violence in the Workplace

Gun violence in the workplace continues to be a significant occupational hazard. Whether it occurs on the work premises or carriers over to an off-premises location, gun violence remains a continuing risk associated with a job,

Biden Administration Targets Occupational Exposure to PFAS

The Biden-Harris Administration announced accelerated efforts to protect American workers from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which can cause severe health problems and persist in the environment once released, posing a severe threat across rural, suburban, and urban areas. 

National COVID-19 Aerosol Workplace Standard Urged

Leading public health and workplace safety experts have urged the Biden Administration to invoke immediate measures to reduce the aerosol spread based COVID-19 virus. In a letter to the national pandemic response team leaders, the experts have stated that urgent action is needed on a national scale.

Workers’ Compensation Insurer Responses to COVID-19

This free NIOSH Center for Workers’ Compensation Studies (CWCS) webinar will highlight the ways that many insurers are responding to COVID 19:

• Communicating prevention programs
• Providing funding for engineering controls and PPE
• Providing remote risk control services

Chairwoman Adams Opening Statement at Workforce Protections Subcommittee Hearing on Protecting Workers from COVID-19

Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chairwoman Alma Adams (NC-12) delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled, “Examining the Federal Government’s Actions to Protect Workers from COVID-19.”

National COSH Releases Guidelines for “A Safe and Just Return to Work”

Workers must be included in safety plans, say health experts, as wave of walkouts leads to new protections.

“My co-workers are getting sick and we know this disease can be fatal,” says Sofia, a pseudonym for a worker at a Case Farms poultry plant. “We want to do our jobs and help feed people during this crisis. But we need to know our employer is listening to us and doing everything possible to make our workplace safe. Right now, that is not happening.”

To ensure safety for Sofia – and millions of others who are still working or will return to work in the coming weeks and months -- the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) released a new report today: “A Safe and Just Return to Work.”

“The United States is far from being ready to open for business without putting not only workers but entire communities at grave risk of illness and death,” states the report introduction. “Only the most essential businesses should be open, and even those must only be allowed to operate if critical safety measures are in place - that are monitored and enforced.”

The document, with comprehensive guidelines for workplace safety, worker participation and fair compensation for sick, injured and at-risk workers, was prepared by experts convened by National COSH. Writers and contributors include certified industrial hygienists, academicians, attorneys, physicians and leaders of non-governmental and nonprofit organizations.

“The post-COVID world will be different in many ways,” said Jessica Martinez, MPH, co-executive director of National COSH. “One difference we insist on: Workers must be at the table, actively involved in decisions about workplace safety -- at their own workplaces and when creating local, state and federal guidelines.”

U.S. workers are at high risk in workplaces identified as hot spots for the spread of COVID-19, including slaughterhouses, nursing homes and prisons. “A Safe and Just Return to Work” calls for the inclusion of workers and their unions on all task forces, commissions and advisory boards established by governors, mayors and other public officials to establish rules and procedures for workplaces currently operating and those scheduled to re-open.

“Unfortunately, both before and during the current crisis, an unequal balance of power in the workplace means that safety often takes a back seat – especially for workers of color, immigrants and others in marginalized communities,” said Martinez. “Fortunately, working people are not accepting the status quo. The risk and horrible consequences of COVID-19 have led to an unprecedented number of walk-outs and other job actions – and in most cases, workers have been successful in winning protections to reduce risks to themselves, co-workers, their families and the public at large.”

“COVID 19 is highly contagious and can be deadly,“ said Sherry Baron, MD, MPH, a professor of public health at Queens College in New York City who assisted in the preparation of the National COSH report. “Employers who adopt a ‘business-as-usual’ approach could cause workers and their family members to become sick or even die. The right way to reduce risk and limit harm is to include workers in making the plan and implementing effective safety programs, based on the best available scientific evidence.”​

“We need stronger laws -- and strong action to enforce our existing right to a safe workplace,” said Jora Trang, managing attorney at Worksafe in Oakland and president of the National COSH board of directors. “In addition to protective measures that must be in place now for all essential workers, bold measures are urgently needed to address the underlying disparities and injustices that were laid bare by the pandemic.”

The report emphasizes that a safe, just return to work – now and into the future – requires, at a minimum, the following elements:

• Effective and stringent health and safety protections, informed by science, backed by robust enforcement, and designed with meaningful input by workers, worker center/COSH groups, unions and employers.
• A planned, detailed and meaningful system of screening, testing, contact tracing, proper isolation and epidemiological surveillance.
• Guaranteed job protection and just compensation for those working, and for those who can’t.
• Inclusion of and respect for meaningful worker and union involvement in all planning, protocols and decision-making regarding safety in the workplace and return-to-work.
• Measures to ensure equity, inclusion and a path to end health and economic disparities.

“A Safe and Just Return to Work” report stresses that Covid-19 safety protections must align with the “hierarchy of controls” recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The hierarchy emphasizes system-wide engineering and process controls – such as improved ventilation – which reduce exposure most effectively across an entire workplace in addition to life-saving personal protective equipment.

“A Safe and Just Return to Work” is available on the National COSH website at tinyurl.com/safeandjustreturn. It is the latest addition to Coronavirus Resources for Workers, available in English and Spanish with resources in multiple languages, including specific industry and occupational guidelines for grocery workers, health care workers, poultry workers, seafood workers, warehouse workers and others.

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Notice To The NJ Bar: Public Access To Court Events During Covid-19 - Directives #11-20 ("Supreme Court Guidelines On Media Access And Electronic Devices In The Courts") And #12-20 ("Principles And Protocols For Virtual Court Operations During The Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic") njjudiciary.com AOC 4/28/2020

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Blog: Workers ' Compensation

Twitter: jongelman

LinkedIn: JonGelman

LinkedIn Group: Injured Workers Law & Advocacy Group

Author: "Workers' Compensation Law" West-Thomson-Reuters

Dangers of Heat Illness

As temperatures rise in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminds employers to protect their employees from the dangers of working in hot weather.

OSHA’s message is simple: Water. Rest. Shade. Employers should encourage workers to drink water every 15 minutes, and take frequent rest breaks in shaded areas. Employers should:

1. Encourage workers to drink water every 15 minutes; and take frequent rest breaks in the shade to cool down;
2. Develop an emergency plan that explains what to do when a worker shows signs of heat-related illness;
3. Train workers on the hazards of heat exposure, and how to prevent illness; and
4. Allow workers to build a tolerance for working in heat.

The NJ Workers' Compensation Act "....provides for the awarding of workers' compensation benefits to victims of heat stroke or sunstroke in cases in which personal injury, or death, can be shown to have arisen out of and in the course of employment. Case law has generally provided for the awarding of compensation benefits in instances in which a previously healthy individual has succumbed to the effects of heat or sunstroke following a specific accident at work." "Where a foreman for a corporation observes circumstances transpiring in his presence leading reasonably to the conclusion that a workman, while working in the discharge of his duty under him, has sustained an injury, the foreman has knowledge of the injury within the purview of the Workers' Compensation Act, and his knowledge is imputed to his employer, the corporation. Merritt v. American Stevedores, 15 N.J.Misc. 710, 195 A. 382 (Com.Pl.1937)." Gelman, Jon L, Workers’ Compensation Law, 38 NJPRAC § 8.7.Particular injuries—Heat stroke or sunstroke (Thomson-Reuters 2019).

The OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool is a free, downloadable app that calculates a worksite’s heat index and displays the associated risk levels. Users can receive precautionary recommendations specific to heat index risk levels to help protect employees from heat-related illness. The tool is available in English and Spanish.

OSHA’s Occupational Heat Exposure page explains the symptoms of heat illness, first aid measures to provide while waiting for help, engineering controls and work practices to reduce workers’ exposure to heat, and training.

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

CDC has requested comments for the feasibility of a mesothelioma registry

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has announced the opening of a docket to obtain information on the feasibility of a registry designed to track mesothelioma cases in the United States, as well as recommendations on enrollment, data collection, confidentiality, and registry maintenance. The purpose of such a registry would be to collect information that could be used to develop and improve standards of care and to identify gaps in mesothelioma prevention and treatment.

Rand Study Urges National Workers’ Compensation Reforms

A national study by the Rand Corporation is urging changes to the workers’ compensation system. The study was commissioned by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and approaches necessary improvements inorder to make the nation’s workplaces safer.

Making Workplaces Safer

This marks the 27th year the AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America’s workers. It features state and national information on workplace fatalities, injuries, illnesses, the number and frequency of workplace inspections, penalties, funding, staffing and public employee coverage under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. It also includes information on the state of mine safety and health.

Hearing Loss Remains a Significant Problem at Work

Today's post is shared from the cdc.gov:

"Noise-induced hearing loss is a significant, often unrecognized health problem among U.S. adults. Discussions between patients and personal health care providers about hearing loss symptoms, tests, and ways to protect hearing might help with early diagnosis of hearing loss and provide opportunities to prevent harmful noise exposures. Avoiding prolonged exposure to loud environments and using personal hearing protection devices can prevent noise-induced hearing loss."

Zika: The Next Compensable Infectious Disease - Benefit Challenges Begin

Workers' Compensation insures for the consequences of infectious diseases arising out of and in the course of employment. Is the system ready for a potential onslaught of Zika claims?

The line in the sand has been drawn in the State of Florida, where an infected Miami Beach police officer has been denied benefits. The union has actively supporting the municipal employee in an effort to rule the claim compensable.

The NJ Supreme Court in establishing compensability in an occupational disease cited Justice Learned Hand, “Few adults are not diseased … an infection mastered, though latent, is no longer a disease, industrially speaking, until the individual's resistance is again so far lowered that he succumbs.” Bober v. Independent Plating Corp., 28 N.J. 160, 145 A.2d 463 (1958).

NIOSH to Hold Meeting on Motor Vehicle Safety

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is seeking input on the progress and future direction of its Center for Motor Vehicle Safety

Early screening spots emergency workers at greater risk of mental illness

Today's post is shared from sciencedaily.com

Emergency services workers who are more likely to suffer episodes of mental ill health later in their careers can be spotted in the first week of training. Researchers wanted to see if they could identify risk factors that made people more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress (PTSD) or major depression (MD) when working in emergency services.

Researchers from the University of Oxford and King's College London wanted to see if they could identify risk factors that made people more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress (PTSD) or major depression (MD) when working in emergency services.

Dr Jennifer Wild from the University of Oxford explained: 'Emergency workers are regularly exposed to stressful and traumatic situations and some of them will experience periods of mental illness. Some of the factors that make that more likely can be changed through resilience training, reducing the risk of PTSD and depression. We wanted to test whether we could identify such risk factors, making it possible to spot people at higher risk early in their training and to develop interventions that target these risk factors to strengthen their resilience.'

Click here to read the entire article.

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Human exposure to carbon nanotubes and the carcinogenic consequences

As the application of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in consumer products continues to rise, studies have expanded to determine the associated risks of exposure on human and environmental health. In particular, several lines of evidence indicate that exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) could pose a carcinogenic risk similar to asbestos fibers. However, to date the potential markers of MWCNT exposure are not yet explored in humans.

22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous occupational noise

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data regarding injuries, deaths, and illness faced by millions every year in the workplace. This week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) issue is devoted to occupational health concerns, in acknowledgment of Workers Memorial Day (April 28th).

Daylight Savings: Suggestions to help workers adapt to the time change

Today's post is shared from cdc.gov/niosh:

Spring forward Fall back.

We all know the saying to help us remember to adjust our clocks for the daylight savings time changes (this Sunday in case you are wondering). But, what can we do to help workers adjust to the effects of the time change?  A few studies have examined these issues but many questions remain on this topic including the best strategies to cope with the time changes.

Coffee Workers at Risk for Lung Disease

Today's post is shared from cdc.gov

Roasted Coffee Beans

Obliterative bronchiolitis, an irreversible form of lung disease in which the smallest airways in the lung (the bronchioles) become scarred and constricted, blocking the movement of air, was previously identified in flavoring manufacturing workers and microwave popcorn workers who were occupationally exposed to diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) or butter flavorings containing diacetyl. Now, NIOSH research finds that workers at coffee processing facilities may also be at risk.