Employee fatally struck by crane bucket

An employee has died following an industrial accident at a Jacksonville, Florida shipping dock on Sunday, according to local law enforcement. The man reportedly was hit in the upper body by a large crane bucket that was lowering a load of concrete material onto a vessel docked near the Jacksonville Port Authority. News4Jax (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Jail possible for roofing contractor who owes $2.2M in fines

A Florida roofing contractor faces possible jail time in connection with $2.2 million in unpaid Fed-OSHA fines, for which a federal judge found him in contempt of court in 2020. The contractor contended in court any violations were immediately corrected, but that the fines would force him out of business. Florida Times-Union

Starbucks to require employee vaccinations or testing

In response to Fed-OSHA’s vaccine-or-test requirement for companies with more than 100 employees, Starbucks is requiring its U.S. employees to be fully vaccinated by February 9 or face a weekly COVID testing requirement. U.S. News and World Report

Workplace noise isn’t just annoying, it’s downright dangerous

Sound can damage employees’ health and hamper their productivity as it attacks the brain. Not even loud sound, but just the ordinary background noise that most any busy office tends to generate. Kiplinger

North Dakota hires farm safety coordinator

In 2020, North Dakota had one of the most highly documented confined space and grain entrapment accident rates in the nation with a total of seven cases, on par with Minnesota, according to a study by Purdue’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program. North Dakota State University Extension Services hasn’t had a farm safety coordinator since 2005, but in response to a perceived increase in work-related agriculture accidents, has hired one. In Forum (Fargo, N.D.)