Worker’s death prompts huge fine

• OSHA proposed a $1.4 million fine for Florence Hardwoods LLC for numerous violations of federal safety and health regulations.
• Florence Hardwoods previously agreed to pay nearly $191,000 and stop hiring children under the age of 16 to settle a federal lawsuit labor regulators filed against the mill, which is in northern Wisconsin along the border with Michigan.
• That lawsuit was filed after 16-year-old Michael Schuls died July 1, two days after he was injured at the sawmill, where other child employees were also injured in a string of accidents.
• OSHA said it has cited Florence Hardwoods for eight willful, six repeat, 29 serious, and four other-than-serious violations of federal safety and health regulations.
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Texas Tesla worker attacked by robot

• A Tesla engineer was attacked by a robot during a brutal and bloody malfunction at the company’s Giga Texas factory near Austin, Texas.
• The robot reportedly pinned the man, who was then programming software for two disabled Tesla robots nearby, before sinking its metal claws into the worker’s back and arm, leaving a ‘trail of blood’ along the factory surface.
• The incident, which left the victim with an ‘open wound’ on his left hand, was revealed in a 2021 injury report filed to Travis County and OSHA.
• Last year, the Workers Defense Project filed a complaint on behalf of workers at Giga Texas with the OSHA, alleging Tesla’s contractors and subcontractors gave some hires false safety certificates.
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New OSHA rules apply to thousands of workers

• More than 52,000 employers must start complying with a new OSHA rule in 2024 that mandates more thorough reporting of injuries.
• Workplaces in industries with high injury and illness rates, and firms with 100 or more workers, must provide OSHA the details annually of every significant incident at the work site.
• Some employers claim the new rule exposes them to unfair allegations of having dangerous workplaces.
• OSHA views the new requirements as a way to learn about how safety problems lead to bigger mishaps and enable the agency to better focus inspections on employers with truly problematic practices.
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Workplace fatalities rise in Wyoming

• The number of occupational fatalities in Wyoming rose from 27 in 2021 to 34 in 2022 —an increase of seven deaths, or 25.9%, according to the Research & Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
• Variations in fatalities from year to year are, to some extent, the result of the random nature of work-related accidents.
• There is not always a direct relationship between workplace fatalities and workplace safety.
• Suicides and homicides that occur in the workplace are included as occupational fatalities. Workplace fatalities are counted in the state where the injury occurred, not necessarily the state of residence or the state of death.
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