BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is urging workers and members of the public engaged in Hurricane Sandy cleanup and recovery efforts in New York, New Jersey and the New England states to be aware of the hazards they might encounter and the steps they should take to protect themselves.

Deadline is Nov. 30

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor challenges developers, students and anyone else with a little tech savvy and creativity to enter the Workplace Safety and Health Challenge. The goal is to design a tool that demonstrates the importance of recognizing and preventing hazards by helping young people understand their rights in the workplace.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is launching an alternative dispute resolution pilot program for complaints filed with OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program. ADR can assist complainants and employers in resolving their disputes in a cooperative and voluntary manner.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the appointment of four new members and re-appointment of two current members to the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health. They will serve two-year terms and represent the interests of the public, employers, employees and government.

The 15-member committee meets at least twice a year. The newly appointed and re-appointed members will join nine other current members serving the remainder of their terms on the committee.

Violations found in Johnstown, Ohio, also will benefit employees in Torrington, Conn., Tifton, Ga., and Commerce, Texas

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Continental Terminals Inc., based in Jersey City, with 18 alleged safety and health violations at the companys warehouse in Kearney.OSHA initiated an inspection upon receiving a complaint. Proposed fines total $162,400.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Blade Contracting Inc., based in Staten Island, with seven safety – including one willful – violations for fall hazards at a Jersey City, N.J., work site. The investigation was initiated after a worker with the masonry contractor was injured by falling from a sixth floor balcony while attempting to access a suspension scaffold. Proposed penalties total $136,290.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited SEI Group of Norcross with four repeat safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards while they were wrapping insulation material for a new residence located in Alpharetta's Castleberry Estates. OSHA initiated an inspection in June as part of the agency's Local Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction.

MT. LOOKOUT, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Roger Shortridge Construction, based in Mt. Lookout, for one willful and two serious violations at a Tridelphia work site. OSHA initiated an investigation in March after a compliance officer observed fall hazards while conducting an inspection of another contractor at the work site. Proposed penalties total $47,400.

DELAWARE CITY, Del. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Formosa Plastics Corp. USA with 16 alleged safety and health violations at its Delaware City site. A March investigation was a follow-up to two inspections opened in October 2009. Proposed penalties total $148,700.

QUEENS, N.Y. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Rochdale Village Inc. for alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace health and safety standards after two maintenance employees were hospitalized for accidentally inhaling a powder pesticide. The apartment community, located in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, faces a total of $116,400 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA's Queens District Office.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today awarded $10.7 million through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program to 72 nonprofit organizations, including community/faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, and colleges and universities.

AKRON, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Logan Machine Co. with 16 safety and health violations following a March inspection that was initiated upon receiving a complaint that alleged hazards. Proposed penalties total $66,600.

ANDOVER, Mass. – Employees at a Haverhill residential construction site were exposed to potentially deadly or disabling falls of up to 16 feet from a roof and a scaffold that lacked fall protection. Conditions found during inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration point to falls as the leading cause of death in construction work. As a result, OSHA is calling upon employers in Massachusetts and the Merrimack Valley to take effective action to reduce and minimize fall hazards.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. Utica food processing company Delorio Foods Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration with 14 alleged serious violations at the company's Bleecker Street manufacturing facility for exposing workers to unsafe working conditions. Proposed penalties total $54,900 following an inspection initiated by OSHA in May.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered two railroad companies to pay three workers a total of $650,729.14 in back wages and damages for retaliating against them for reporting workplace injuries and safety concerns. The orders resulted from investigations conducted by the Chicago office of the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which were initiated upon receiving complaints from the employees.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration have signed a memorandum of agreement to facilitate coordination and cooperation between agencies regarding the enforcement of the Federal Railroad Safety Act's whistleblower provision. The act protects railroad employees from retaliation when they report safety violations, or work-related personal injuries or illnesses.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that OSHA and BP Products North America Inc. have resolved 409 of the 439 citations issued by the agency in October 2009 for willful violations of OSHA's process safety management standard at BP's refinery in Texas City, Texas. Under the agreement, BP will pay $13,027,000 in penalties, and already has abated or will abate all existing violations by the end of 2012.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited four New Jersey contractors working on a 20-story building in Jersey City for exposing workers to fall hazards following a December 2011 inspection during which inspectors observed employees working on the fourth floor without personal fall protection or fall protection systems. Altura Concrete Inc.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health today issued a hazard alert on ensuring that employers in hydraulic fracturing operations take appropriate steps to protect workers from silica exposure. Today's action, which is taken after consultation with stakeholders, including industry, meets the Obama administration's focus on ensuring that this important resource continues to be developed safely and responsibly.