Water District Earns 14th Consecutive Safety Award
- The Northern Kentucky Water District (NKWD) has received the 2025 Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance (KEMI) Destiny Award for workplace safety.
- To qualify for the award, organizations must maintain a formal safety program, provide regular on-site training and safety meetings for employees, and demonstrate consistent safety protocols.
- This marks the fourteenth consecutive year the NKWD has earned this distinction.
- The NKWD was one of only 27 KEMI policyholders out of 20,000 across Kentucky to receive the 2025 award.
New Study Proves Heat Safety Rules Save Lives
- A new report finds that tough workplace heat-safety standards reduce worker deaths.
- The report has implications for South Florida, which leads the nation in dangerous heat days.
- A study analyzing fatalities found that U.S. states with formal heat-protection rules saw a 33% drop in outdoor worker deaths once standards were enforced.
- Florida currently has no state-level rules, despite recording 215 heat-related deaths and over 31,000 heat-related ER visits between 2018–2022.
OSHA Hits Idaho Manufacturer With Nearly $1 Million Fine for “Repeated” Safety Failures
- OSHA Hits Idaho Manufacturer With Nearly $1 Million Fine for “Repeated” Safety Failures
- The U.S. Department of Labor has cited Idaho-based Virginia Transformer Corp. with nearly $1 million in penalties for repeatedly endangering its employees.
- Federal inspectors found the company failed to correct multiple hazards identified during previous inspections, particularly concerning cranes used to move heavy loads that had faulty brakes and switches.
- OSHA issued 53 serious and repeat violations, highlighting a disregard for basic protective measures.
- Hazards ranged from unguarded machinery and dangerous fall risks to a complete failure to provide necessary personal protective equipment (PPE).
- The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.