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Safety/Health

Establish zero-tolerance policy on violence and threats–but don’t count on backup from courts

11/08/2010

The almost universal employer response to increased workplace violence has been the implementation of so-called zero-tolerance policies. The problem with zero-tolerance rules is that they only work if they’re uniformly enforced. Employers can’t pick and choose which employee’s behavior violates the policy. To do so invites legal trouble, as the following case shows.

OSHA gives Texas company 1.2 million reasons to record employee injuries, illnesses

10/18/2010
If you shrug off your injury record-keeping duties, consider this recent case study: OSHA last month cited a Houston manufacturer with 83 willful violations for “hiding” work-related injuries and illnesses at the company. The proposed fines: $1.2 million.

The upside of a down economy: On-the-job fatalities declined by 17% in past year

10/06/2010
The 4,340 fatalities recorded in U.S. workplaces in 2009 was 17% below the 2008 count of 5,214. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the drop is mostly attributable to high unemployment and, more specifically, layoffs in construction and mining.

Remind bosses: Ignoring safety may mean direct liability

09/24/2010
Employees who are hurt—or families of those killed on the job—generally must be content with the payments they’re eligible to receive under the New Jersey workers’ compensation law. There is an exception, however. If an employer knows that a safety hazard exists that will injure or kill an employee and harm results, the harmed parties may go after the employer.

SeaWorld fined $75,000 in orca trainer’s death

09/23/2010
OSHA has cited SeaWorld Orlando for three safety violations following the death of marine mammal trainer Dawn Brancheau earlier this year.

Revised heat-illness rules may increase your responsibilities

09/22/2010

If your employees work outdoors or in other hot environments, get ready for tougher rules governing the measures you must take to prevent heat-related illness and injury. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has unanimously voted to revise California’s already stringent heat-illness prevention regulations, formalizing temporary, emergency rules that have been in place since 2005.

OSHA takes aim at Miami shooting range’s lead hazards

09/21/2010

OSHA has cited Miami shooting range E.N. Range for willfully exposing its employees to lead contamination. The potential fines total more than $2 million. The shooting range pays workers to clean expended bullets off the range. OSHA alleged the company provided insufficient protection against lead poisoning for those workers.

Workers trained to clean up Gulf oil spill cry foul

09/21/2010
When the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster began, hundreds of Panhandle workers signed up to receive training on how to safely clean up the mess. Now that they have completed the program, some are complaining that they can’t start working because their employers are withholding the certificates. OSHA is looking into the complaints …

Surprise! Iron Range firm wins EEOC ADA case

09/08/2010
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Will we run into legal trouble if we commit to hiring only ‘careful’ workers?

09/08/2010
Q. Several recent hires have suffered work-related injuries shortly after starting to work for us. As a result, our workers’ compensation premiums have soared. Our CEO, in an effort to avoid this problem, has directed managers to hire only “careful” workers in the future. Is this legal?