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Walmart Reportedly Pilots Staff Body Cameras to Improve Workplace Safety
- Walmart is piloting body cameras for employees at several stores and reportedly asking staff who record incidents to report them in an “ethics and compliance” app.
- CNBC reported the pilot began earlier this month, ahead of a holiday period where the majority of American retail workers (57%) report feeling unsafe in the workplace due to rising theft, violence, and understaffing.
- Walmart has not confirmed how many stores are trialing the technology, nor specified exactly what the purpose of the technology is.
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Amazon to Overhaul Safety Practices, Settling DoL Ergonomics Cases
- The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday announced that OSHA and Amazon have entered into a corporate-wide settlement to help better protect employees from hazardous working conditions.
- The settlement agreement resolves the department’s multiple ergonomics cases against Amazon.com Services LLC, in the first major multi-site investigation brought by OSHA in more than a decade.
- Amazon will pay a $145,000 penalty and submit to oversight on 10 facilities.
- Some 10 cases had been scheduled to begin trials in front of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission between January and June 2025 resulting from inspections conducted across 10 Amazon facilities beginning in the summer of 2022.
- “This corporate-wide settlement agreement focuses on improving conditions for several hundred thousand Amazon workers nationwide,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker. “The agreement requires Amazon to assess ergonomic risk across its facilities, including through annual updates, and investigate and implement controls to reduce ergonomic risk. The ball is in the company’s court. OSHA stands ready to work with their ergonomics team to evaluate their progress and verify the commitments they made to OSHA.”
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Wyoming Workplace Fatalities Increase
- Occupational fatalities in Wyoming increased 32.4% between 2022 and 2023, according to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
- The agency said Thursday that 45 people died in 2023, 11 more than in 2022. Of those deaths, 17 occurred in the state’s natural resources and mining industry.
- Eight occurred in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction.
- The second-highest industry accounting for occupational fatalities was transportation and warehousing, with 13 deaths.
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NIOSH Looks to Fund Research on Mine Emergency Evacuations
- NIOSH is offering $15 million in total for grants to support research specifically focused on underground mine evacuation technologies and human factors related to mine emergencies.
- Eligible for the grants are U.S. academic institutions that offer graduate degree programs in both mining and explosives engineering.
- Research priorities include developing training, systems, and tools to facilitate miner self-escape; and continuing to improve the design of refuge alternatives.
- The application deadline is Feb. 24, 2025.
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United Rentals Launches New Excavation Safety Training Program
- United Rentals has launched a new Excavation Safety Training for Competent Persons Program, offering an interactive approach to trench and excavation safety education.
- The program, developed with Mosaic Learning, and available through the company’s United Academy helps workers understand and apply OSHA Standard 29 CFR Part 1926 Subpart P through multiple learning formats including in-person classes, virtual sessions, and e-learning.
- The training features virtual reality simulations, hazard hunts, and includes the United Rentals Trench Safety app.
- The training helps competent persons—those overseeing excavation safety—along with employers and workers, understand and apply OSHA Standard 29 CFR Part 1926 Subpart P. It goes beyond the basics, covering topics such as soil evaluation, protective systems, and interpretations of safety standards.
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