April 26, 2012

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis observes Workers Memorial Day at Action Summit for Worker Safety and Health, announces fall prevention campaign

LOS ANGELES Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced a new campaign led by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. The awareness campaign will provide employers and workers with life-saving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds and roofs. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and another 255 workers were killed.

April 25, 2012

Radio actuality in honor of Workers Memorial Day available from Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has made an audio message available from Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, in honor of Workers Memorial Day.

Workers' Memorial Day, which is observed each year on April 28, honors the lives of those who have been injured or killed on the job. In the United States, 12 workers die on the job every day, down from 38 per day when the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed in 1970.

April 16, 2012

Delta Air Lines signs agreement with US Department of Labors OSHA on seat belt compliance measures to protect airline industry workers

WASHINGTON – Delta Air Lines Inc. has signed a corporatewide settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration in order to protect workers who operate baggage handling vehicles.

April 12, 2012

Bartlett Grain in Atchison, Kan., cited for willful and serious violations by US Labor Department after 6 die, 2 injured in grain elevator explosion

ATCHISON, Kan. – Bartlett Grain Co. L.P. faces five willful and eight serious safety violations cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration following an October 2011 grain elevator explosion in Atchison that killed six workers and left two others hospitalized.

April 5, 2012

US Labor Departments OSHA announces new National Emphasis Program for Nursing and Residential Care Facilities

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a new National Emphasis Program for Nursing and Residential Care Facilities to protect workers from serious safety and health hazards that are common in medical industries. OSHA develops national emphasis programs to focus outreach efforts and inspections on specific hazards in an industry for a three-year period. Through this NEP, OSHA will target nursing homes and residential care facilities in an effort to reduce occupational illnesses and injuries.

April 4, 2012

US Department of Labor's OSHA seeks applications for $1.2 million in Susan Harwood safety and health training grants

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is soliciting applications under the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program to fund training for workers and employers in recognizing workplace hazards and control measures, and understanding their rights and responsibilities. A total of $1.2 million is available to nonprofit, community and faith-based organizations; employer associations; labor unions; joint labor/management associations; and colleges and universities.

April 4, 2012

US Department of Labors OSHA seeks applications from organizations interested in becoming OSHA Training Institute Education Centers

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that it is seeking applications from nonprofit organizations for authorization to provide standard classroom instruction on occupational safety and health as part of the OSHA Training Institute Education Centers Program. The national program serves private sector workers, supervisors and employers within OSHA's jurisdiction.

March 20, 2012

US Department of Labors OSHA revises Hazard Communication Standard

Regulation protects workers from dangerous chemicals,helps American businesses compete worldwide

WASHINGTON – To better protect workers from hazardous chemicals, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has revised its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations' global chemical labeling system. The new standard, once implemented, will prevent an estimated 43 deaths and result in an estimated $475.2 million in enhanced productivity for U.S. businesses each year.

March 1, 2012

US Department of Labors OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program moved to Office of the Assistant Secretary

WASHINGTON – Moving forward with continuing efforts to strengthen employees' voices in the workplace, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a major restructuring of its Office of the Whistleblower Protection Program. The program will now report directly to the agency's Office of the Assistant Secretary instead of to its Directorate of Enforcement Programs.

February 29, 2012

US Labor Departments OSHA orders Georgia-based Interline Logistics Group to reinstate, pay more than $190,000 to terminated whistleblower in Illinois

SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered Interline Logistics Group LLC to immediately reinstate a truck driver in Sauk Village, who was terminated after reporting safety concerns about the brakes on his truck and refusing to violate U.S. Department of Transportation regulations for allowable driving and rest hours.

February 1, 2012

Administrative law judge orders Newport, Del.-based Daisy Construction to pay $59,000 for willful trenching violations

Company added to Severe Violator Enforcement Program

MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Baltimore, Md.-based Vertis Communications for 12 – including two repeat – safety and health violations at its Monroe Township direct marketing facility.OSHA initiated an inspection in response to complaints alleging the hazards.Proposed penalties total $120,700.

January 26, 2012

Administrative law judge orders Newport, Del.-based Daisy Construction to pay $59,000 for willful trenching violations

NEWPORT, Del. – An administrative law judge with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has found that Newport-based Daisy Construction willfully violated the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's trenching standards, and ordered the company to pay $59,000 in penalties.

January 17, 2012

US Department of Labors OSHA orders AirTran Airways to reinstate pilot, pay more than $1 million in back wages and damages

OSHA found airline violated whistleblower protection provision of AIR21

January 5, 2012

MSHA releases preliminary fatality data for 2011

ARLINGTON, Va. – Preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration released today reveal that 37 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation's mines in 2011. There were 21 coal mining and 16 metal/nonmetal mining fatalities last year, compared with 48 and 23, respectively, in 2010, making 2011 the year with the second-lowest number of mining deaths since statistics were first recorded in 1910.

December 29, 2011

US Department of Labor's OSHA proposes $288,000 in fines to Case Farms Chicken for 61 violations at Winesburg, Ohio, processing facility

WINESBURG, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Case Farms Processing Inc., which operates Case Farms Chicken in Winesburg, for 61 safety and health violations. Violations related to OSHA's process safety management standards allegedly resulted in an ammonia release at the facility on June 30. Proposed fines total $288,000.

December 28, 2011

US Department of Labor's OSHA finds 50 violations at Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi, proposes more than $176,000 in penalties

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited government contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries International Shipbuilding Inc. and five subcontractors for a total of 50 safety and health violations. OSHA opened its inspection after receiving a complaint in June about safety hazards at the Pascagoula shipyard.

December 28, 2011

US Department of Labors OSHA proposes more than $1 million in fines to Houston, Texas, employer for willful and serious violations

Piping Technology and Products misled OSHA about amputation hazards

HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Piping Technology and Products Inc. for 13 willful and 17 serious violations for exposing workers to the risk of amputations and other serious injuries from dangerous machinery, as well as other hazards, at the company's Houston facility. Proposed penalties total $1,013,000.

December 20, 2011

US Labor Departments OSHA orders Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad Co. to reinstate, pay more than $300,000 to terminated whistleblower employee in Idaho

SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad Co. to immediately reinstate an employee in Idaho who was terminated after reporting a work-related injury. OSHA also has ordered the company to pay the employee more than $300,000 in back wages, compensatory damages, attorney's fees and punitive damages.