Stricter safety rules being considered in Washington

• Businesses in Washington state could face more safety regulations if lawmakers in Olympia succeed in reversing a 20-year-old prohibition on new regulations targeting common workplace injuries.
• The state Senate this month passed legislation meant to lower the risk of musculoskeletal disorders for workers.
• Musculoskeletal disorders range from wrist sprains to lower back injuries to carpal tunnel syndrome. They can be caused by long hours, repetitive motions, and awkward postures.
• OSHA found in recent inspections of Amazon warehouses that the company could implement the same suggestions made in 2000 to lower the risk of injury for its workers.
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Firm has long list of violations

• Worcester Resources in Massachusetts is proposing to build a $1 billion Flagpole of Freedom park in Washington County, Maine.
• However, the company has a long list of fines for workplace safety and housing conditions.
• Worcester Resources was fined $11,500 in May by OSHA for three violations after a COVID outbreak the previous fall that infected as many as 80 workers and left one wreath maker dead.
• The company and its affiliates have also been fined more than $21,000 by the federal Department of Labor and its agencies for 10 violations since 2017.
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A boost for safety training

• The arrival of OSHA often creates fear on job sites.
• To help alleviate this anxiety, the Texas State Technical College and its Occupational Safety and Environmental Compliance program provide OSHA training statewide.
• These classes are either broad-based or tailored to special needs.
• Faculty provide courses in construction safety, general industry outreach, and customized safety classes, which can last from four hours to two days or more, according to a press release from TSTC.
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Utah firm fined more than $300,000 after workers’ deaths

• An OSHA investigation into the deaths of two workers buried under a pile of shifting coal at a Pueblo, Utah, industrial loading facility found that their employer failed to follow required federal standards.
• The agency learned that, as three employees of Savage Services Corp. climbed onto the coal pile to determine if the feeder below was receiving coal, the pile shifted.
• The falling coal fatally buried two workers and the third employee was able to escape without injury.
• OSHA issued citations to Savage Services Corp. and the company faces $304,556 in proposed penalties.
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