workplace safety

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Workers: McDonald's Told Us to Put Mustard on Burns

Condiments replaced first-aid kits, safety complaints say

(Newser) - Instead of being offered burn cream, McDonald's workers who suffered severe burns on the job were asked if they wanted mustard or ketchup on that, according to recently filed safety complaints. In some of the 28 safety complaints filed in 19 states over the last couple of weeks with...

Senator Seeks Answers on Man's Sugar-Plant Death

Bob Casey tells OSHA number of incidents is unacceptable

(Newser) - The chief the Senate's workplace safety subcommittee says he is concerned about the rising number of deaths involving temp workers—and he is "particularly troubled" by the death of Janio Salinas, who was buried alive in sugar last year after a plant removed a safety device that was...

Worker Buried Alive After Sugar Plant Pulls Safety Device

Anti-accident screen was 'slowing down production'

(Newser) - A worker at a Pennsylvania sugar plant died buried alive in sugar in an accident that could have been prevented by a safety device removed just 13 days earlier, a ProPublica investigation finds. Janio Salinas—a 50-year-old who, like every other employee in the CSC Sugar warehouse in Fairless Hills,...

EPA to Workers: Stop Pooping in the Hall

Agency hires consultant after phantom pooper strikes

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency has a pretty basic tip for EPA employees who want to protect the environment they work in: Stop pooping in the hallway. The agency's Denver branch found it necessary to tell workers to cease "inappropriate bathroom behavior," citing incidents including toilets clogged with...

Happiest State Is Also Deadliest, for Workers

That would be North Dakota, with 17.7 deaths per 100K

(Newser) - With the nation's fastest-growing economy and lowest unemployment rate, it's no wonder North Dakota is the happiest state in the country—but it's also the deadliest for workers. According to a new report from the AFL-CIO, oil and gas workers are six times more likely to die...

Families Rage Over China Plant Inferno

Building where 119 died had no fire exits

(Newser) - The 119 workers killed in a poultry plant fire in China died because of greed and corruption, furious relatives say. The disaster—believed to be the worst factory fire in Chinese history—has sparked huge protests in northeast China, the South China Morning Post reports. Survivors say five of the...

119 Trapped Workers Die in Poultry Plant Inferno

China plant's gate was locked when fire broke out

(Newser) - At least 119 workers were killed and dozens more injured when fire swept through a poultry plant in northeast China early today, trapping workers inside a slaughterhouse, the AP reports. Surviving workers say the gate was locked when the fire broke out. A loud bang was heard before the fire...

Hustler Fined $14K for Condom-Free Porn

California safety officials slap Larry Flynt's porn house with citation

(Newser) - Larry Flynt's Hustler Video and another porn production company have been fined by California workplace safety officials for filming unsafe sex. Hustler was fined $14,175 for three violations, including failure to provide condoms or other equipment to protect performers from assorted bodily fluids, AP reports. Activists have targeted the...

Farms See Record Number of Grain Bin Deaths

OSHA has increased inspections

(Newser) - Grain bins are innocuous-seeming, necessary parts of big agriculture—but they're proving deadly for a record number of farm workers, and OSHA is taking notice. A worker trying to clear damp clots of corn or soy beans can quickly find himself in a sinkhole, his chest compressed by hundreds of...

Congratulations: You're Worth Millions

... at least according to federal safety regulators

(Newser) - What's a human life worth? Quite a bit, according to the Obama administration. The New York Times rounds up some examples:
  • The EPA values the cost of a life at $9.1 million, up from $6.8 million under Bush.
  • The FDA comes in at $7.9 million, up from
...

Teacher Wins $225K After Losing Voice

Vocal chords damaged after working in noisy classroom

(Newser) - A British teacher ruined her voice while struggling to make herself heard in a noisy classroom—and has been awarded $225,000 in compensation. Joyce Walters developed nodules on her vocal chords and had to give up teaching after working in an adult education center that placed her in a...

AIDS Activists Hammer Larry Flynt Over Unsafe Porn

Group demands Flynt's stars start using condoms

(Newser) - Activists demanding that porn industry actors use condoms have targeted the world's most famous pornographer. The AIDS Health Foundation has filed a workplace safety complaint against Flynt, accusing him of endangering his performers, AP reports. Protesters gathered outside the Beverly Hills headquarters of Flynt's company and delivered 100 porn DVDs...

Dozens of iPhone Factory Workers Seriously Ill

Chinese workers hospitalized with nerve damage

(Newser) - Dozens of Chinese workers have spent close to a year in hospital after sustaining nerve damage in a factory making iPhone components. The workers, mostly young women, were exposed to a toxic solvent they used to clean iPhone and iTouch screens, GlobalPost finds in part of a series of investigations...

Models Boycott High-Heel 'Stilts'

It's an issue of workplace safety, say top catwalkers

(Newser) - Three top models are refusing to teeter on limb-threatening 12-inch spike heels in catwalk shows. The models refused to appear in Alexander McQueen's latest show because of his impossible-to-wear "armadillo" shoes and "workplace safety" concerns. A British shoe designer sympathized with the models. "It'd be like walking...

1 Dead, 5 Injured in Orlando Shooting Spree

Police still hunting for the gunman

(Newser) - One person is dead and another five people have been shot after a gunman opened fire in an office complex in downtown Orlando, Fla., reports the Sentinel . Police, who initially reported more victims, are still looking for the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Jason Rodriguez. He is a former employee of...

OSHA Gutted by Bush White House
OSHA Gutted by
Bush White House

Dec 29, 2008 12:23 PM CST

OSHA Gutted by Bush White House

Safety standards eased in response to industry pressure

(Newser) - Under President Bush, political appointees at OSHA caved to industry pressure by withdrawing or watering down workplace health and safety regulations, the Washington Post reports. From 2001 to 2007, the agency issued 86% fewer "economically significant" rules than it did under Clinton. It's "like turning a ketchup bottle...

Score Card on Late White House Rules Changes

Bush administration pushes through midnight regulations

(Newser) - With the  Bush White House pushing through a raft of last-minute rules, the nonprofit journalism group ProPublica offers a running list, with the status of each:
  • Business-friendly safety regulations would loosen restrictions on exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace.
  • Local police would get increased surveillance ability.
  • Loaded guns would
...

Fed Agency Battles Tough Post-9/11 Building Code

New safety rules safety 'too expensive,' officials complain

(Newser) - A federal agency is joining major landlords in fighting tough new building safety standards developed in the wake of 9/11, the New York Times reports. The requirements, added last year after a federal probe into the Twin Towers collapse, call for better fireproofing and extra stairwells. But the General Services...

NRA Guilty of Poor Aim in Fla. Guns-at-Work Case
NRA Guilty of Poor Aim in
Fla. Guns-at-Work Case
OPINION
Aug 25, 2008 10:10 PM CDT

NRA Guilty of Poor Aim in Fla. Guns-at-Work Case

Second Amendment does not trump property rights for private companies

(Newser) - Florida’s "take your guns to work” law seems like it’s upholding the right to bear arms (which is what the National Rifle Association wants us to believe), but in fact it’s a violation of property rights, Steve Chapman argues in Reason. The law allows permit-holders to...

Feds Push to Ease Workplace Toxin Regs

Labor Dept. seeks to loosen oversight; union decries 'midnight' move

(Newser) - The Department of Labor is rushing to push through policy that would make it more difficult to regulate workers’ exposure to toxins, the Washington Post reports. The proposal was never publicly disclosed, as required by law, but rather surfaced on the website of the White House Office of Management and...

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