Political Rivals Fights Over OSHA Workplace Heat Rule Bill
- A proposed federal heat-safety rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has become a political flashpoint in Indiana’s 8th Congressional District after a House committee advanced a bill from Rep. Mark Messmer that would block the rule.
- Democratic candidate Mary Allen is criticizing Messmer, the Republican incumbent in the 8th District who Allen is looking to unseat. over the committee’s votes, calling them a threat to basic worker protections and arguing that access to water and shade shouldn’t be controversial.
- Messmer argues the OSHA proposal would impose a one-size-fits-all federal framework on businesses operating in vastly different climates and conditions, citing the difference between a South Florida construction company, an Indiana manufacturer, and a Michigan landscaping business, and says responsible employers already protect their workers without the mandate.
- The bill has not passed the full House or Senate.
Worker Severely Burned in Gas Explosion
- A worker was severely burned in a natural gas explosion around on July 23 inside a business in Sloatsburg, New York, triggering a large fire and multi-agency emergency response.
- Tuxedo Fire Chief John Bower said the badly burned worker was airlifted by medevac to Westchester Medical Center, while everyone else inside the mixed-use building safely escaped before crews arrived.
- Firefighters contained an initial explosion quickly, but the fire spread into the roof, heavily damaging the building, blowing out windows, and sending thick smoke into the air.