Issues arise over healthcare violence prevention

• Employers are concerned about redundant healthcare violence prevention mandates and defining high-hazard areas.
• These issues were raised as OSHA began its small-business review of a proposed rule to protect hospital workers and others.
• The standard would cover about 14 million workers and about 300,000 hospitals, residential mental health treatment centers, nursing homes, ambulance services, and many types of social services.
• Workers involved in food delivery, laundry service, building maintenance, and information technology, according to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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Cargo firm faces fines

• A marine cargo contractor has been cited by OSHA following the death of a worker crushed by two tons of cargo in Panama City, Florida, in 2022.
• Inspectors determined the company’s crane operator had an obstructed view of a signalman guiding the movement of a load of paper weighing thousands of pounds on the M/V Weserborg.
• When the ship pitched during the crane work, the worker, who had been in the ship’s cargo hold, was fatally crushed up against a wall by the load.
• The company is facing $43,750 in proposed penalties. It has 15 days to contest the citations.
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OSHA partners with New Jersey

• OSHA forged an alliance with the state of New Jersey to promote safer and healthier workplaces.
• There were 82 workplace fatalities in New Jersey in 2020, a number that jumped to 110 such deaths in 2021 – a 34% increase.
• More than half of these fatalities occurred in just three areas: construction, transportation and warehousing, and the waste industry.
• The rate of workplace injuries and illnesses was 2.7 per 100 full-time workers, with a rate of 2.9 in New Jersey — a level 7.4% higher than the U.S., according to OSHA.
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Online courses game-changer for workplace safety

• OSHA offers an online learning course called OSHA 10-Hour Workplace Safety Course, which is making a major impact on the construction industry.
• This course provides workers with a convenient, accessible, interactive, cost-effective, and compliant way to receive the workplace safety training they need to stay safe on the job.
• Online construction safety training is often more cost-effective than in-person training because it eliminates the need for travel, lodging, and instructor fees.
• The OSHA 10 Construction Online course also provides workers with the ability to start and stop the training at any time.
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