Ohio company attempting to gut Fed-OSHA via lawsuit

An Ohio furnace repair company’s last week filed a federal lawsuit court challenging the authority of Fed-OSHA by declaring the Occupational Safety and Health Act unconstitutional. The company’s assertions include that the secretary of Fed-OSHA has used the act to impose “onerous” safety standards on employers, that it has the power to conduct “intrusive” surprise inspections of workplaces, that it often works with labor unions. Courthouse News Service

Father electrocuted, son hurt while tree-trimming in Florida

A tree-trimmer in Brevard County, Florida was in the bucket of a lift, trimming a tree behind his home when he accidentally hit an electric line last week and was fatally electrocuted. His teenage son also was reportedly injured while trying to help his father. Fed-OSHA is expected to investigate. Fox 35 Orlando

Missouri hospital employees to get personal panic buttons amid spike in assaults

Between 300 and 400 front-line employees of a Branson, Missouri hospital working in the emergency department and inpatient hospital rooms are being provided with personal panic buttons before the end of the year, in response to the number of assaults against employees recently tripling, officials say. Most of the assaults come from patients, according to the hospital, but some have come from visitors as well. ABC News

MSHA citations reveal conditions left West Virginia miners even more vulnerable to COVID-19

Citations issued to mines throughout the state of West Virginia from March to December 2020 suggest unhygienic conditions could have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus among miners. The most frequent unhealthy condition regulators observed at West Virginia mine sites was failure to provide sanitary toilets. Charleston Gazette-Mail

North Carolina faces call for COVID-19 workplace safety standards

A coalition of advocacy groups plans to submit a revised petition to the North Carolina Department of Labor that would mandate additional COVID-19 standards for employees on farms and meat processing plants. Several of the proposed standards would apply to all private employers across the state. Others would allow any employee in the state to refuse to work if workplace conditions are unsafe. Employers would not be able to terminate employees for the refusal. Carolina Public Press