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Safety/Health

Many employees unsure what to do in an emergency

07/15/2015
Almost all workers—94%—say they feel safe at work, but 23% aren’t sure they would know what to do if they faced a physically dangerous emergency. That’s what the Harris Poll found this spring when it surveyed more than 3,000 workers from a cross-section of industries.

$38.5M in punitive damages to Philly shooting victims

06/29/2015
A Philadelphia jury has awarded $38.5 million in punitive damages to the families of two Kraft Food employees who were shot to death by a co-worker in 2010.

USPS fined for worker’s heat-related death

06/16/2015
Sweltering summer weather may be hard to remember when much of the country is in the grip of Arctic blasts, but heat-related illness is a significant work hazard.

Felony OSHA violations for Bumble Bee worker’s death

05/20/2015
Bumble Bee Tuna and two employees face felony OSHA violations after a maintenance worker was cooked alive inside a 35-foot oven at the company’s Santa Fe Springs facility.

Time to replace your old OSHA poster

05/19/2015
For the first time since 2007, OSHA has revised the “It’s the Law” poster that all employers must display. Take down your tattered old copy and replace it with the new one.

Reinstatement ordered for whistle-blower machinist

05/18/2015
OSHA has ruled that Union Pacific Railroad violated federal whistle-blower provisions when it suspended a machinist who recorded a safety inspection and then forwarded it to the Federal Railroad Administration.

May we remove a restaurant server from shifts because of sores on her face?

05/18/2015
Q. We have a server at one of our restaurants who has open sores on her face. She claims she can’t get a bandage to stick to her chin, leaving the sore uncovered. As a result, we have received a few customer complaints. May we remove the server from her shifts so that we do not lose business?

As stress expands, so do we

05/18/2015
The workplace has long been an enabler of Americans’ ever-expanding waistlines and according to an annual survey by CareerBuilder, the stresses associated with full-time employment will likely continue to contribute to the problem.

The jobs that drive people to drink (and get high)

05/08/2015
Lots of employees enjoy an after-work cocktail, but some jobs either attract people who are prone to more serious consumption or make them more likely abuse alcohol and drugs.

How do we prevent negligent hiring claims?

04/29/2015
Q. I recently read an article about employees who were attacked or harassed at work by other employees who never should have been hired in the first place. How can an employer reduce its risk of liability for negligent hiring?