House passes bill targeting workplace violence in healthcare, social services

The House passed legislation on Thursday aimed at addressing workplace violence in the healthcare and social service sectors. The measure calls for employers to develop plans to prevent and investigate violence in the workplace, provide training, and implement recordkeeping requirements. The measure faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate. The Hill

 

Hotel workers protest over safety, file complaint with Fed-OSHA

A group of housekeeping employees from the Sheraton Stamford in Connecticut protested outside the hotel on Thursday, claiming they’re routinely put at risk by exposure to toxic cleaning chemicals and poorly maintained equipment. Some claim work-related arthritis and other physical impairments such as hernias and damaged discs. Stamford Advocate

 

Firefighters hope to change culture to escape cancer risk

Studies in recent years have linked firefighting with an increase in the likelihood of being diagnosed with cancer, but despite the research, it is difficult for a firefighter to prove his or her cancer was caused by the job. A team at a nonprofit integrated healthcare network is conducting a study to determine how many volunteer firefighters in New York have developed cancer over the past few decades. Poughkeepsie Journal

 

World Health Organization targets employee burnout

The topic of burnout in the work environment has made headlines in recent years as more employers and medical practitioners have seen the symptoms manifest themselves. The World Health Organization, which defines burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, has determined it is a diagnosable condition. Material Handling & Logistics

 

How countertop workers started getting sick

Physicians have identified at least 19 countertop workers with silicosis in the United States, and they believe more people are at risk because the countertop fabrication industry in the U.S. has around 100,000 workers. New England Public Radio [with audio]

 

North Dakota oilfield services company cited in connection with May death

Fed-OSHA has fined an oilfield services company more than $13,000 after the agency’s investigation into the May death of an employee in Williams County, North Dakota. The 34-year-old man was working on a well site May 18 when a heavy rod came loose and struck his head. According to Fed-OSHA, the wrong type of coupling was used to hold the particular rod, which was elevated above the wellhead. Bismarck Tribune

 

Fed-OSHA issues citations in death of wildlife biologist

Fed-OSHA has cited Fort Jackson Army Base in South Carolina following the death of a wildlife biologist in May. Family members have said she was found with fuel on her body near a burned all terrain vehicle that she had been operating. The agency suggested the base develop a mandatory procedure for igniting burns that includes a tracking system. Wildfire Today