Senators introduce bill to codify VPP
U.S Senators Mike Braun, Michael Bennet, Richard Burr, and Tim Scott have introduced the bipartisan Voluntary Protection Program Act in the Senate, a bill that would codify and revive a Fed-OSHA program that encourages businesses to adopt stringent safety and health standards for employees. VPP business sites have injury and illness rates 50 percent lower than industry averages. WBIW
New Jersey company pleads guilty to violation in confined space fatality
Two years after a 29-year-old Pennsylvania man died after collapsing in a rail car while scraping oil sludge from its walls, his employer pled guilty to violating a confined space standard. According to court documents, the cars were fully sealed with only a 19-inch manhole on top, and the oil residue that coated each car was toxic and flammable. Employees were given monitors to gauge the oxygen level within the cars, but were only told to use them after the cars were already scraped, swabbed and power-washed. Pocono Record
Employee falls to death at downtown Tulsa worksite
A 52-year-old man died Friday morning after falling at a construction site in downtown Tulsa. Police say the man was on the 11th floor of a building when he fell to the fifth floor and died, and that he wasn’t wearing a safety harness. Fox 23 (Tulsa)
Colorado skier safety bill fails to survive committee vote
Even after hours of emotional testimony, a bill that would require Colorado ski areas to share safety strategies as well as statistics revealing injuries and fatalities failed to make it out of a committee vote last week. The bill would have required all Colorado resorts to issue seasonal reports on accidents and deaths, including details about where and when the accident occurred, mountain conditions, the nature of the resulting injuries and other “non-private” information about the injured skier. It faced stiff resistance from ski industry leaders. Aspen Times
Fed-OSHA filing against Vermont manufacturer could impact lawsuit
Attorneys representing plaintiffs in a class action suit against a Vermont manufacturing plant over pollution of groundwater want new information that came to light last week to become part of the suit discovery process. The information came in the form of a whistleblower complaint filed April 6 with Fed-OSHA by the company’s former attorney, who contends he was unlawfully fired last year after raising concerns about the company’s response to pollution related to PFAS around industrial sites in Vermont, New York, New Hampshire and in other states. Bennington Banner
Northwest Iowa company wins safety award
A Sioux Center, Iowa-based electrical and automation solutions company was honored with the Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2020 National Safety Excellence Pinnacle Award in March at the trade association’s annual convention in Grapevine, Texas, one of 14 contractor member businesses in the ABC to be presented with the honor. This is the second year in a row Interstates has been a recipient of the award. nwestiowa.com
Whistleblower protections bill passes Oregon Senate in party-line vote
A bill that would extend protections for workplace whistleblowers in Oregon passed the state Senate in a party-line vote last week. Senate Bill 483 would make it easier for employees to claim retaliation if punished by their employers after making a complaint to state regulators. Oregon Senate Republicans claim the bill creates a presumption of guilt for employers accused of retaliation. KDRV