News Digest 1-19-2022

 

Employee fatally struck by falling object at suburban Chicago rail site

A 49-year-old employee who was working at the Union Pacific Railway in Will County, Illinois died after being hit by a falling object on Saturday. Fed-OSHA is investigating. WJOL

 

Fed-OSHA investigating death at Nebraska meatpacking plant

Fed-OSHA is interviewing employees and management at a Grand Island, Nebraska meatpacking plant as part of its investigation into the accidental death of a 48-year-old employee over the weekend. KSNB (Grand Island, Neb.)

 

Fed-OSHA cites Bronx medical center for violent workplace safety hazards

Fed-OSHA has cited the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx with $17,000 in penalties for allegedly exposing employees to a violent workplace atmosphere that included staff being assaulted by patients and lack of safeguards for employees in the pediatric emergency department. The agency conducted the investigation in response to dozens of workplace safety and staffing complaints filed by the hospital’s nurses, with the backing of the state’s nursing union. Bronx Times

 

Parking lots, driveways also bring slip and fall concerns

In some areas of the country, not only roads but parking lots and sidewalks also are covered in ice and can be extremely dangerous to walk on. A slip and fall can happen in a matter of seconds. Fox Carolina

 

Employer obligations in administering vaccine mandates when facing religious exemption requests

Those who are anti-vaccine have pushed back against at-will employers to unilaterally require vaccination of employees. Specifically, the use of religious exemptions and religious accommodations have been invoked to sidestep vaccine mandates in the workplace. This article explores employer and employee obligations for those businesses that have implemented vaccine mandates and resulting litigation, particularly in the public sector. Reuters