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☆ Norfolk Southern agrees to boost safety at Ohio derailment site, US says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

General view of the site of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste, in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Alan Freed/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC.N) has agreed to improve conditions for workers rebuilding and cleaning up the site of its February derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the U.S. Labor Department said on Wednesday. A Norfolk Southern-operated train derailed on Feb. 3 in Ohio, causing cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other dangerous chemicals to spill and catch fire. In March, Ohio and the U.S. Justice Department sued Norfolk Southern, seeking to ensure the railroad pays the full cost of cleanup and any long-term effects of the derailment. A U.S. Senate panel in May approved rail safety legislation that tightens rules on trains carrying explosive substances like the Norfolk Southern-operated train.

Persons: Alan Freed, We’ve, Alan Shaw, Susan Heavey, David Shepardson, Doina Chiacu, Deepa Babington, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Norfolk Southern Corp, U.S . Labor Department, Teamsters ’ Railway Union, Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Waste, Norfolk Southern, U.S . Justice Department, U.S, Senate, Republicans, Thomson Locations: East Palestine , Ohio, U.S, Norfolk Southern, Ohio, Norfolk

☆ A Dollar General shopper says she tried to check out before realizing the doors were left open after the store closed for the night
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A viral TikTok appears to show a customer shopping at a closed Dollar General store. Dollar General stores tend to be chronically short-staffed, Insider previously reported. "I just broke into the Dollar General," she jokes before playing Ian Lewis's "Bad Boys," the theme song from the TV series "Cops." The video is the latest example of something gone awry at a Dollar General store. Are you a Dollar General employee with a story idea to share?

Persons: Takis, Sandravasqz, Ian Lewis's Organizations: Dollar, Service, US Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Workers Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Extreme heat is holding the economy back. Don't expect federal legislation to help any time soon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

There are no federal regulations protecting workers in extreme heat. Biden announced plans to protect workers last week with more enforcement of heat-safety violations. "I urge the administration to move quickly to create this national heat standard to protect workers on the job. Last year, business groups sued Oregon over extreme heat worker protection rules, arguing the state overstepped its statutory authority in requiring employers to pay workers during breaks. However, some experts believe that investments to protect workers, such as rearranging shifts or changing uniform colors, pay off since workers can be more productive in the longer run.

Persons: Biden, Marc Freedman, Algernon Austin, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, haven't, Austin Organizations: Service, United States Chamber of Commerce, New York Times, OSHA, Center for Economic, Policy Research, Research, Labor Department, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Department of, Democratic, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Safety, UPS, Asuncion Valdivia Heat, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Demolition Association Locations: Wall, Silicon, California , Colorado, Washington, America, Oregon, Texas, California , Michigan, Georgia, Asuncion Valdivia

And Amazon failed to ensure that injured employees received adequate treatment, the agency said. Separately on Thursday, a worker advocacy group said it had filed a complaint with OSHA on behalf of employees at an Amazon warehouse near St. Louis, Missouri. They claim the online retailer imposes excessive, unsafe work rates and that they were mistreated by Amazon's in-house medical staff. The company has said that it invests millions of dollars in worker safety and has cooperated with OSHA's nationwide investigation. Critics of Amazon have long accused the company of putting profit over safety by requiring employees to work at an unsafe pace and forgo breaks to meet demanding quotas.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Amazon's, unionize, Daniel Wiessner Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Inc, U.S . Department, Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, U.S, Logan Township , New Jersey, St, Louis , Missouri, New York City, Albany , New York

☆ Extreme heat cuts into US small business, worker hours in July, report shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Safiyah Riddle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Carlos BarriaAug 1 (Reuters) - Record-breaking heat waves across the U.S. forced small businesses to close early in July, according to a report released on Tuesday, and reduced paid working hours for employees as dangerous temperatures reshape consumer behavior. Hundreds of millions Americans dealt with extreme heat advisories in the past two weeks, as temperatures across the South and Southwest hit historic highs. These hazardous conditions have kept consumers inside and forced small businesses to close early - cutting into paid hours for employees - according to a report by the small business payroll company Homebase. Nationally, small business employees worked 0.9% fewer hours in the first two weeks of July compared with the last two weeks of June - a standard seasonal change that is typical of summer months - the report said. Small business employees in New Orleans and Memphis, for example, were on the clock 5.7% and 5.1% less, respectively, than they were in June as business owners shorten hours to adjust for fewer customers and try to protect employees from too much heat exposure.

Persons: Carlos Barria, slowdowns, John Waldmann, Danah Lee, Lee, I've, Travis Parsons, Parsons, It's, Safiyah Riddle, Dan Burns Organizations: REUTERS, Southwest, Homebase, Memphis, Boston, Taco Joint, Weather Service, International Union of, Thomson Locations: Scottsdale, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S, New Orleans, Memphis, International Union of North America, Canada

☆ Middle-income Americans think prosperity is within reach
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Santander recently released a quarterly survey of about 2,250 middle-income bank and financial services customers (defined as having household incomes between $47,000 and $142,000.) Illegal child labor is on the rise in a tight job marketUS child labor violations have jumped in recent years. Now, the Department of Labor has announced actions it’s taken so far this year through a new interagency task force on child labor. Between October 1, 2022, and July 20, 2023, the Department of Labor concluded 765 child labor cases, found 4,474 children employed in violation of federal child labor laws and assessed more than $6.6 million in penalties against employers, the agency announced on Thursday. In addition, the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department is currently pursuing more than 700 open child labor cases.

Persons: New York CNN —, Tim Wennes, “, ”, Bell, they’re, they’ll, they’ve, That’s, We’re, we’ve, BlackRock, Tupperware, it’s, Labor Julie Su, Jordan Barab, Obama, Barab Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal, Heartland Tri, State Bank of, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, First Bank, Spain’s Santander, SC, Santander, New York Stock Exchange, GameStop, AMC, Libra Investment, Department of Labor, Labor, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Labor Department Locations: New York, PacWest, Banc, California, State Bank of Elkhart , Kansas, America, United States, Santander, Florida, noncompliance, Tupperware

☆ Illegal child labor on the rise with nationwide violations found, Labor Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

JBS has said that they do not tolerate child labor and that they would stop using PSSI at every location where the child labor violations were alleged to have occurred. In addition, the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department is currently pursuing more than 700 open child labor cases. Officials at the Labor Department emphasized in a press call this week that the increase in child labor violation findings is partially due to “significantly enhanced child labor enforcement efforts” in recent months. The fight to weaken child labor lawsThe Department of Labor on Thursday said its interagency task force on child labor has begun cross-training with other governmental agencies like Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement to identify and report possible incidences of child labor exploitation. But at the same time that violations of child labor protections are rising, states across the country are introducing legislation to weaken child labor laws.

Persons: it’s, ”, Labor Julie Su, Jordan Barab, Obama, Barab, JBS, Cargill, ” PSSI, PSSI, “, That’s, DOL, Karen Garnett, Tiffanie Boyd, there’s, David Weil, Weil, Jaehoon, Jay, Chang, ” McDonald’s, they’re, Biden, Sen, Rich Draheim, “ That’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Labor Department, Packers Sanitation Services Inc, Cargill, JBS, Department of Labor, Labor, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, PSSI, Blackstone Group, CNN, McDonald’s, of, “ Employers, Heller School for Social Policy, Management, Brandeis University, Hyundai, Kia, Health, Human Services, Refugee Resettlement, US Department of Agriculture, Economic, Institute, Minnesota, Republican Locations: New York, Nebraska, JBS USA, Minnesota, Louisiana, Texas, Louisville , Kentucky, McDonald’s, United States, DOL, Alabama, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Missouri , Ohio, South Dakota, Arkansas, Iowa, America

☆ Workers at a Burger King near Atlanta say they're getting sick working with no AC in 95-degree heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The exhaust over the grill doesn't even work," Burger King employee and USSW member Arnice Sykes said in a statement. At a @BurgerKing in Decatur, the A/C is broken, workers are getting sick because of it, and Burger King does nothing. We spoke out along with other service workers to demand this extreme heat issue is stopped! Last week, workers at McDonald's locations in Houston, Texas, and Los Angeles each walked out after working without AC during heatwaves. And in Italy, unionized McDonald's workers went on strike as temperatures there reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Persons: Burger, walkouts, Arnice Sykes, I've, Burger King Organizations: Burger King, Service, Dollar, Union of Southern Service Workers, US Occupational Safety, Health Administration Locations: Georgia, Wall, Silicon, Decatur , Georgia, Atlanta

☆ 'Penny shoppers' are finding hidden $0.01 deals at Dollar General — and it's a sign of a larger problem for the discount chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Dollar General cuts prices on some items to $0.01 in preparation for removing them from inventory. And shoppers dedicated to the art of sifting through the merchandise have developed a playbook for finding the best penny items. Another tip: "Don't ask employees about penny items," lest they pull them from the shelves, one TikTok video tells penny shoppers. But for Dollar General employees, penny items can be a liability. Are you a Dollar General employee with a story idea to share?

Persons: Penny, There's, Rob Alleman Organizations: Service, Facebook, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Dollar Locations: Wall, Silicon, Michigan, Tennessee

☆ Scorching temperatures are making delivery a dangerous job — and it's only getting worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Even outside the hottest US states, heat that delivery workers aren't used to can be dangerous. Several delivery driver deaths have triggered changes. In recent years, delivery drivers reporting heat-related illnesses were second only to construction workers, according to OSHA statistics reported by E&E News. The 2022 death of 24-year-old Esteban Chavez, a UPS driver in Southern California, made national headlines. But his death came less than a year before the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents UPS workers, began re-negotiating its contract with UPS.

Persons: aren't, Jeff Goodell, Goodell, Shawndu Stackhouse, Tom Williams, Esteban Chavez, AccuWeather, Chavez wasn't, wasn't, Chavez, Spencer Platt, it's, James Daniels, San Clemente , CA, Irfan Khan, Greg Abbott Organizations: FedEx, heatwave, OSHA, E, D.C, Inc, Getty, Brotherhood of Teamsters, UPS, —, Los, Los Angeles County Coroner's, Labor Department, of Occupational Safety, Health, Broadway, New York City, Postal Service, it's, Los Angeles Times, Amazon, Texas Gov Locations: Portland, Yosemite, Vermont —, Northeast Washington, Northern California, Southern California, Pasadena , California, Los Angeles County, California, New york City, New York, Texas, San Clemente ,, New York City

☆ American Airlines worker found to have been killed by accident after an airline investigator suggested it may have been suicide, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Austin police ruled an AA worker was killed in April by accident, per the Austin American-Statesman. The tug that killed Michal Ingraham was in an incident 10 days before his death, per the report. An AA investigator had argued that Ingraham's death was a suicide, according to the newspaper. An American Airlines employee who died in April when he was involved in a crash on the airport tarmac was found to have been killed by accident, after a corporate investigator for the airline suggested it may have been a suicide, a report says. Both the Travis County medical examiner and police concluded that the worker had been killed by accident, per the report.

Persons: Austin, Michal Ingraham, Lynn, Ingraham's, Menzies, Menzies didn't Organizations: Austin American, Statesman, AA, Morning, American Airlines, Austin, Bergstrom International Airport, Police, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Austin Police Department Locations: Travis

☆ What’s ahead this week for Wall Street and the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Case Shiller house price index for May and consumer confidence for July from the Conference Board. Earnings reports from AT&T, Boeing, Meta Platforms, Mattel, Stellantis and Chipotle Mexican Grill. Earnings reports from Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Honeywell, Keurig Dr Pepper, Royal Caribbean, Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Southwest Airlines and Hershey. Friday: Personal Consumption Expenditures price index for June, Employment Cost Index for the second quarter and University of Michigan consumer sentiment for July. Earnings reports from Procter & Gamble, Chevron and Exxon Mobil.

Persons: Jerome Powell, David Smith, Powell, Christopher Waller, ”, Dustin Thackeray, Tesla, Chris Isidore, —, Case, Dr Pepper Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, CNN, Fed, Traders, Rockland Trust, Big Tech, Microsoft, Meta, Crewe Advisors, Nasdaq, Netflix, Safety, Health Administration, doesn’t, Biden Administration, Bureau of Labor Statistics —, Ryanair, Federal Reserve, Conference Board, General Motors, Daniels, Midland, Verizon, PacWest, Boeing, Mattel, Honeywell, Anheuser, Busch Inbev, Southwest Airlines, Hershey, University of Michigan, Procter & Gamble, Chevron, Exxon Mobil Locations: Rockland, American, United States, PacWest Bank, Royal Caribbean

☆ A 16-year-old boy died while working in a Mississippi poultry plant. An unscrupulous hiring agency may be to blame, a workplace expert says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tomas Duvan Perez, 16, died after becoming trapped in equipment while working at a Mississippi poultry plant. Perez is the third minor in the last month to die in a US workplace, the Huffington Post reported. Now, six years later, he is dead because of a workplace accident at a poultry plant that should've never hired him. Perez, 16, died on July 14 at the Mar-Jac poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, NBC News reported. A spokesperson for the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi claims an outside hiring agency misled the company by misrepresenting the boy's age, the Huffington Post reported.

Persons: Tomas Duvan Perez, Perez, Duvan Tomas Perez, should've, Jac, Jordan Barab, Barab, They're, Joe Colee, Michael Schuls, Will Hampton Organizations: Huffington, Service, NBC News, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, PBS Locations: Mississippi, Wall, Silicon, Guatemala, United States, Hattiesburg , Mississippi, Wisconsin, Missouri, Wisconsin , Ohio, Iowa

☆ There are almost no national safety rules protecting US workers exposed to high heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The National Weather Service recorded a high temperature of 97 degrees at the Dallas Love Field airport that day. The human body’s primary way to deal with high heat is through sweating, which cools the body when it evaporates. But despite these risks, getting a clear set of rules to protect workers from high heat has proved difficult. OSHA heat safety rulesEven without a specific heat standard, OSHA can fine employers that let heat get unsafe for workers under a “general duty” rule requiring safe work places. “That’s why a heat standard would be much more useful.”OSHA said protecting workers from heat is a major priority.

Persons: ”, Jordan Barab, “, ” Eugene Gates , Jr, Carla Gates, I’m, Kimetra Lewis, Gates, Larry Kenney, Kenney, Barab, Doug Parker, Marc Freedman, Biden, ” –, Angela Fritz Organizations: New, New York CNN, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Biden, US Chamber of Commerce, AFL, “, Labor Statistics, Lakewood Post, National Weather Service, Dallas Love, US Postal Service, CNN, National Association of, Carriers, Penn State, First Street Foundation, OSHA, Commerce Locations: New York, California, Florida, Lakewood, Dallas, Gates, United States

☆ Target workers can now wear shorts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Target has changed its dress code to allow more of its approximately 440,000 US-based workers to wear shorts as extreme heat makes retail and other jobs harder. Previously, Target allowed employees who worked outdoors to wear shorts. The company recently changed its policy to allow the majority of store workers to wear shorts. (Target did not say which workers could not wear shorts.) Target’s uniform standards ask employees to wear solid color pants, capris, skirts or shorts in good condition.

Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Target, Safety, Health, Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: New York, United States, Southwest, South, Texas, Arizona

☆ In-N-Out bans mask wearing for employees in some states
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Beginning August 14, employees that want to wear masks amid Covid-19 must have a “valid medical note exempting him or her from this requirement,” an email to workers said. A policy for its California and Oregon restaurants, where it can’t ban employees from wearing masks, said that they have to wear a company-provided N95 mask. Employees that have to wear masks, like in the “patty room” or lab technicians,” are exempted. However, the memo said that its new policies are in “compliance with evolving health guidelines.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends employees wear masks, however. Although statewide mask mandates have disappeared, health experts recommend that vulnerable individuals might still want to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces, such as restaurants.

Persons: ”, ’, Joe Biden Organizations: New, New York CNN, Employees, Safety, Health Administration, Contra Costa county Locations: New York, Arizona , Colorado , Nevada , Texas, Utah, California, Oregon, Contra Costa, San Francisco

☆ Dollar General has paid a fraction of the $21 million it owes in fines for hazardous working conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dollar General has paid less than one-fifth of the $21 million in fines it owes OSHA. OSHA has also cited Dollar General for other kinds of incidents. Neither OSHA nor Dollar General immediately responded to Insider's requests for comment. Dollar General is one of the fastest-growing retailers in the US and is about to open its 20,000th store. Do you work or shop at Dollar General and have a story idea to share?

Persons: hadn't, Lee Marchessault, That's, Alex Bitter Organizations: OSHA, Service, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Dollar Locations: Wall, Silicon, Florida, Minot , North Dakota, North Dakota

☆ The Labor Department only fines businesses on average $8,500 when a worker dies from a heat-related illness
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The average federal fine for a US employer, when a worker dies from heat-related illness, is $8,539.98. The three-year average of heat-related worker deaths has doubled since 1990, a 2021 report from NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations revealed. According to federal data reported between 2017 and 2022, the Department of Labor fines businesses governed by federal OSHA regulations an average of just $8,539.98 if an employee dies because of heat-related illness. Gleason also noted that federal OSHA fines for worker deaths are significantly smaller than that of other federal agencies. "The average Environmental Protection Agency penalty is 10 times that of federal OSHA for a worker that dies," Gleason said.

Persons: Eugene Gates Jr, Felipe Pascual, Richard Gleason, Gleason, West Virginia —, Thomas Linkous, — Farrell, — Organizations: Service, NPR, Columbia, Investigations, US Postal Service, University of Washington, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Department, Labor, OSHA, Environmental, Agency, The Department Locations: United, Wall, Silicon, United States, Dallas, Houston, West Virginia, Wisconsin, California, Washington, Oregon

☆ OceanGate threatened to sue its former chief pilot in 2018 unless he withdrew allegations that he'd been fired in retaliation for raising safety concerns, says report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

David Lochridge claimed he was fired in retaliation for raising safety concerns about the sub. Lochridge was fired in 2018 after a meeting with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, where they discussed safety. David Lochridge, OceanGate's former chief pilot, was fired in January 2018 after a meeting with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. The meeting was about safety concerns Lochridge raised in a report about the submersible, which was previously called the Cyclops II, the report said. In his safety report in January 2018, Lochridge pointed to alleged issues that were either defects or unproven, The New Yorker reported.

Persons: OceanGate, David Lochridge, Lochridge, —, Rush, Rob McCallum, Thomas Gilman, Gilman, McCallum, Insider's Tom Porter Organizations: Stockton Rush, Service, Yorker, Titan, US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Rush Locations: Lochridge

☆ Nike CEO John Donahoe on how he manages sleep health in a hectic life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Emily Grill | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Donahoe can't get seven hours of sleep every night, but he said that he tries to hit 70 hours of sleep every 10 days. Hitting this target, rather than exactly how much sleep he gets per night, is a sleep science workaround that the Nike CEO says has been working for him. Sleep science research has consistently shown that the average adult should aim for seven hours of a sleep each night. It's not necessarily always going to be the recommended seven hours of sleep that will ensure a good night's rest, according to sleep experts. In the long term, if you don't get enough sleep, there's health outcomes that can occur."

Persons: I've, Elon Musk, CNBC's David Faber, Bill Gates, John Donahoe, Donahoe, It's, Mark Wu, Wu, Gates, Jagdish Khubchandani, Khubchandani Organizations: Nike, CNBC, Summit, Apple Watch, Google, Johns Hopkins University, National Institute for Occupational Safety, Health, United, Blood Institute, Ball State University, New Mexico State University, Ball Locations: America, U.S, China, Santa Barbara , California, United States

☆ A new Texas law will override mandated rest and water breaks for construction crews as extreme heat rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some construction crews in Texas are no longer guaranteed water breaks under a new law. Critics say the law will override the few protections that construction workers in Austin and Houston are guaranteed, including 10-minute breaks every four hours to drink water and rest in the shade. The agency in 2021 started collecting information to help inform a national heat standard for indoor and outdoor workers, but a final rule could be years away. Mahaleris said the law wouldn't prohibit people from taking water breaks. "Access to drinking water and bathrooms, taking breaks in the shade — and there's also an education component that's important."

Persons: Greg Abbott, Daniela Hernandez, Abbott, Andrew Mahaleris, Mahaleris, Hernandez, Lulu Flores, there's Organizations: Service, Central America, Workers Defense Project, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Texans, Big, National Park Service, US Postal Service, Democrat, Austin, GOP Locations: Texas, Texas , Louisiana, Mexico, Central, Austin, Houston, Texas . Texas, California , Minnesota, Washington, North Texas, West Virginia, East Texas

☆ What to expect from work the next time faraway wildfires poison your commute
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It may have helped Google to make a decision that many other East Coast employers did not that California-based companies have more experience with hazardous air quality issues. But one thing is certain: companies and workers should expect these wildfire-related air quality issues to return. The decisions companies make on these matters have significant legal and employee satisfaction ramifications, especially given the potential for future air quality issues. Air quality is becoming a broad employee health issue Between Covid, wildfires, radon and other environmental issues, there's been an increased awareness among employers and commercial real estate firms of the importance of air quality. Broadly speaking, companies need to be asking whether the systems they have in place are "adequate to ensure protection and safe air during very bad air quality events," he said.

Persons: David Dee Delgado, didn't, Eric Adams, Sedina Banks, Greenberg, Charles Simikian, Sara H, Dickinson Wright, it's, there's, Thomas Brugato, Nathan J, Oleson, Akin Gump, James Carbone Organizations: Summit, Vanderbilt, Getty, Google, New York, Safety, Health Administration, HR Partners, OSHA, Burling, Newsday Locations: Canada, New York, California, Asia, York, East, Maryland, Los Angeles, Washington, Covington, Islandia , New York

☆ Bernie Sanders launches Senate probe into Amazon warehouse safety conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday launched a Senate investigation into working and safety conditions at Amazon warehouses, adding to federal scrutiny on the labor practices of one of the country’s largest employers. In 2018, following heavy criticism from Sanders, Amazon announced it was raising its minimum wage for US employees to $15 an hour. In his letter Tuesday, Sanders argued that Amazon warehouses “are uniquely dangerous,” and cited recent citations from the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration against Amazon. After inspecting three Amazon warehouse facilities, OSHA issued hazard letters in January related to injury risks from workers lifting packages. An Amazon spokesperson at the time said the company “strongly” disagrees with OSHA’s claims and intends to appeal.

Persons: CNN — Sen, Bernie Sanders, Sanders, ” Sanders, Andy Jassy, OSHA’s, Steve Kelly, Sanders ’, ”, ” Kelly, We’ve Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Labor, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA

☆ Amazon faces Senate probe over warehouse safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon's warehouse working conditions, which have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, are now at the heart of a congressional probe that's being led by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Steve Kelly, an Amazon spokesperson, told CNBC in a statement that the company has received Sanders' letter and is in the early stages of reviewing it. The HELP committee posted a form on its website seeking testimonials from current and former Amazon employees about their experiences at the company. Amazon faces ongoing federal probes into its safety record beyond the Senate's actions. Amazon says it's made progress on reducing injuries across its U.S. operations, and continues to invest in safety initiatives, projects and programs.

Persons: Sen, Bernie Sanders, Andy Jassy, Sanders, Jeff Bezos, Steve Kelly, Jassy, it's, It's, Howard Schultz, Bezos Organizations: Health, Education, Labor, Pensions, Democratic, Amazon, CNBC, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, U.S, Attorney's, Department of Justice, OSHA, Starbucks Locations: Vermont

☆ Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, faces a near $300,000 fine after a worker severed their fingertip on the job
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A worker lost a fingertip while working at a Hostess Brands facility, the Labor Department said. Federal investigators now say the company failed to provide workers with proper training. According to the department, the worker's amputation — reported by the company in December 2022 — occurred as they were attempting to reassemble a pump. In total, OSHA is accusing Hostess Brands of seven violations of federal safety standards, proposing civil penalties of just over $298,000. Hostess Brands employs about 3,000 people and reported revenues of more than $345 million in the first quarter of 2023.

Persons: —, Sukhvir Kaur Organizations: Hostess Brands, Labor Department, Federal, Service, US Department of Labor, Safety, Health Administration, OSHA Locations: Chicago

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