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Safety/Health

Tailor incentives to encourage most important health behaviors

07/03/2008
Half of large employers use incentives to encourage employees to quit smoking, lose weight or otherwise improve their health, and that number will leap to 74% next year, predicts HR consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide …

Sure, they’re fair and balanced, but have they been fumigated?

07/02/2008
Jane Clark is suing the landlord of the Fox News Channel building, claiming three encounters with bedbugs left her unable to work. Clark, a satellite feed coordinator for Fox News, says she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after her brush with the bugs …

OSHA citations follow NYC window-Washing scaffold collapse

07/02/2008
OSHA has cited two companies for workplace safety violations that led to the deaths of two window washers in Manhattan last December. The workers fell 47 stories when their scaffolding platform detached from the window-washing rig attached to the building’s roof …

Job site fatality brings manslaughter charges

07/02/2008
A Brooklyn contractor has been charged with manslaughter following the death of a worker who was killed while digging a foundation in March. William Lattarulo is accused of ignoring obvious safety hazards and forcing his employees to endanger themselves …

Lack of ‘Potty parity’ can spark discrimination claim

07/01/2008

It may sound trivial, but employers in male-dominated industries should take note: Make sure your female employees have access to equal restroom facilities that meet women’s needs. Don’t expect women to adopt male restroom habits. 

In hospitals, have evidence union messages upset patients

07/01/2008
Generally, employees have the right to wear union insignia in the workplace. But in some limited circumstances in health care settings, employers can restrict that right if the restriction is “necessary to avoid disruption of health care operations or disturbance of patients” …

Farm worker’s death prompts outcry

07/01/2008
Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez was a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant and pregnant when she died in May while pruning grapevines in 100-degree temperatures. It shouldn’t have happened, since California is the only state with a heat-illness standard for agricultural workers. Her employer, Merced Farm Labor, had already been issued three citations for violating the standards …

New Jersey court says hola to Spanish workers’ asbestos case

07/01/2008
A state appellate panel has ruled that 15 Spanish workers will be allowed to sue Owens-Illinois, Inc. in New Jersey state court. The case involves asbestos contamination that allegedly occurred aboard U.S. Navy ships docked in Spain …

How much leeway do employers have to prohibit handguns at work?

07/01/2008
Q. We have an employee who has a permit to carry a concealed handgun. Can we prohibit him from bringing his handgun to work? …

Don’t let them eat cake: Join HR’s war on fat

07/01/2008

The focus on overweight employees has always been on the extra expense they add to an organization’s health care costs. But the issue also spills over into a productivity problem, according to a recent study. Aggressive wellness efforts can help trim the workforce size—in a good way …