Maine employee dies in forklift accident
A 59-year-old Maine man died in an industrial accident involving a forklift at a building worksite in Kenduskeag, Maine, on Tuesday. Fed-OSHA is investigating. News Center Maine (Portland, Maine) [with video]
Few Connecticut employers punished by Fed-OSHA for COVID violations
Hundreds of Connecticut employees have filed COVID-related complaints with Fed-OSHA since the pandemic began in March, but experts and legislators say the agency hasn’t provided emergency standards to employers for how they should be handling the COVID-19 crisis, instead offering only guidelines with which they don’t have to comply. Connecticut Mirror
Indiana governor defends response to COVID
COVID-19 cases and deaths are surging at nursing homes as the infection rate in Indiana spikes. Governor Eric Holcomb, however, says there’s no need to reimpose statewide COVID-19 restrictions. The state has reported more than 1,000 cases every day since October 7. Indiana Public Media
Michigan businesses receive $8M for COVID-19 safety equipment
Nearly 1,500 Michigan businesses have received up to $10,000 in matching funds from a grant program created by the state using funds made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, for COVID-19 safety equipment such as air purification systems and safety dividers. MIOSHA says it will soon announce more details about plans to expand its “Ambassador Program,” where safety and health experts visit businesses across the state to offer education and support. Detroit Free Press
Attorneys discuss Michigan OSHA’s COVID-19 emergency rules
MIOSHA has codified the Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s prior executive orders with its emergency rules. Notably, the rules define close contact as being within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, write three Seyfarth Shaw LLP attorneys. JD Supra
Pennsylvania grocery chain claims union broke agreement with ‘slowdown’
A grocery chain subsidiary has sued a union in federal court in Pennsylvania alleging breach of contract for allegedly supporting a workplace “slowdown” due to the coronavirus pandemic that allegedly violates their collective bargaining agreement. The suit comes after the store discovered seven signs posted in employee break and vending machine rooms on September 15 that call on them to boycott overtime and make “good use” of the company’s COVID-19 call off policy. Law360