Settlement reached after Amazon worker dies

• Amazon and the Indiana Department of Labor settled a workplace safety violation brought against the company over the death of fulfillment center worker Caes Gruesbeck.
• An OSHA report said the worker was traveling on a one-man lift to clear a jam on a conveyor line when he hit his head on a conveyor.
• Allen County officials say Gruesbeck was taken to a local hospital in critical condition after the incident. He later died from his blunt force injuries.
• Amazon was fined the maximum penalty of $7,000 by Indiana OSHA for Gruesbeck’s death. The employee was qualified to run the machinery and was wearing proper personal protective equipment.
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Update on Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, fatalities.

• The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is down to one member following the end of Commissioner Amanda Wood Laihow’s term.
• Until the Senate confirms a second member, the Commission remains below quorum and cannot decide appeals.
• While this has happened before, it remains to be seen how long this will last with the many other issues currently before Congress.
• Laihow is a labor lawyer who was previously the director of labor and employment policy for the National Association of Manufacturers.
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Healthcare workers facing more challenges

• A new federal survey revealed that health workers are dealing with increasing levels of harassment and burnout.
• Reports of harassment on the job more than doubled during the pandemic years, and nearly half of healthcare workers often experience feelings of burnout, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Staffing crises, lack of supportive leadership, long hours of work, and excessive demands and inflexibility in our nation’s health systems all must be addressed, said Dr. Casey Chosewood, director of the Office for Total Worker Health at the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
• Acts of harassment include threats, bullying, and verbal abuse from either patients or coworkers, contributing to a hostile work environment, officials said.
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NFGA publishes OSHA guidance

• The National Grain and Feed Association published new guidance to provide members with an overview of OSHA’s final amended e-recordkeeping rule for injury and illness that took effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
• The OSHA Electronic Recordkeeping Rule Guidance Document provides an outline of important issues related to injury and illness data that NGFA member companies may wish to revisit in light of the new rule.
• The first deadline for the latest information required to be submitted under this rule is March 2.
• OSHA has established a secure website, known as the Injury Tracking Application, which offers three options for data submission: manually enter data into a web form; upload a CSV file to process single or multiple establishments simultaneously; or transmit data electronically via an application programming interface.
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