TAGGED POSTS / OSHA
22Apr
2022
MCOSH / Article / 0 comment
Proposed Rule Would Increase Employer Accountability for Workplace Injury and Death
20Apr
2022
admin / Article / 0 comment
OSHA Publishes Proposed Rule that would Reinstate and Expand Reporting Requirements Rolledback Under the Trump Administration
OSHA Publishes Proposed Rule that would Reinstate and Expand Reporting Requirements Rolledback Under the Trump Administration
A recently proposed rule published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would re-instate and strengthen the 2016 injury and death posting requirements for employers with at least 100 employees in hazardous industries.
The move comes after the agency rolled back the requirement for employers with at least 250 employees to electronically submit their OSHA From 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA under the Trump administration.
The rule was rolled back in 2018 after employers claimed that the agency would use the records to publically shame employers with high rates of workplace injury and death. OSHA responded to these by modifying the rule to only require employers to submit summary data on OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses).
The recent proposal seeks to reinstate the original 2016 rule and expand it’s coverage from employers with 250 employees to those with 100 or more employees. If approved, the rule would also include an expanded list of employers designated in high-hazard industries based on their industry code categorized by the North American Industry Classification System (NACIS).
The new rule would include two lists of employers with different compliance standards. It would update Appendix A to identify high-risk industries using the 2017 NACIS. Employers with more than twenty employees that are on the list would be required to submit Form 300A. A new Appendix B would be established to identify employers with 100 or more employees that have had an incident rate of 3.5% or more over a three-year period. Employers listed in Appendix B would be required to submit on Forms 300, 301, and 300A annually.
In a statement addressing the privacy concerns raised by employers which prompted the 2018 rollback of the original standard, the agency said that “[R]ecent advancements in technology [that] have reduced the risk that information that reasonably identifies individuals directly, such as name and contact information, will be disclosed to the public.” OSHA has confirmed its intent to make parts of the workplace injury and death data publically available if the rule is finalized.
Questions about this proposed regulation? Contact us!
25Mar
2022
admin / Article / 0 comment
Mystery of Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Uncovered after 111 years
Source: Forward
Mystery of Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Uncovered after 111 years
Today marks the 111th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, an 18-minute inferno that killed 146 workers – mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women and girls – in what remains one of the worst industrial tragedies in American history. The source of the disaster has long eluded labor experts and historians, but a recent development has led to the likely culprit of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Uncovered.
A book published this week, “Talking to the Girls,” includes essays on the event and its contemporary relevance by activists, scholars and family members of the Triangle workers. One of the contributors is Martin Abramowitz, 81, who fears his father – Isidore, a cutter on the factory floor – might have been the one who accidentally started the blaze.
The fire marshal concluded that someone tossed a match or cigarette butt into Isidore’s scrap bin before it was completely extinguished. Isidore spilled a pail of water on it, but it was too late. “Regardless of whether or not it was his ash, I’m haunted by the fact that he must have been haunted for his entire life,” Abramowitz said in a recent interview.
Frances Perkins, a social worker who witnessed the fire and later became U.S. Secretary of Labor, famously said: “The New Deal began on March 25, 1911.” As for Abramowitz, he is a board member of the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, a nonprofit that is raising money for a $3 million memorial. “I owe that to ‘the girls,’ in the name of my father,” he said.
Worker safety and health committees can make a huge impact on avoiding tragedies like this one from ever happening again. To learn more about how you can organize a committe, contact us for training and technical support.
20Mar
2022
admin / Article / 1 comment
Two workers were tragically murdered on a dairy farm outside of Brockport
Two workers were tragically murdered on a dairy farm outside of Brockport
Source: The Daily News
Fundraisers have been established for two men who were stabbed to death at the dairy farm where they worked in Alexander. Ivan Morales, 30, and Marcelino Gomez Hernandez, no age available, were found dead in a bunkhouse at Blumer Dairy Farm on Route 98 Friday night.
Family and friends of the two men have set up gofundme accounts and will be collecting money at a Latin music night at the Brockport Elks Lodge on Saturday. Morales is from Comalapa, Chiapas, Mexico and collections are being taken to send his body home for burial.
The stabbing happened late Friday night.
Prince N.K. Wilson, 23, of Albion and Raul S. Cruz, 18, of Warsaw and formerly of Albion were arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Genesee County sheriff’s investigators have released few details in the case and have not released the names of the victims. District Attorney Kevin Finnell said the case is a difficult one, with multiple police agencies involved.
To make a donation to the victims, go to gofundme and search “Help Marcelino RIP” and “Help Ivan’s Family in Mexico.”
