New York City construction safety bill amended again

Enacted in response to a spate of deaths and injuries on construction sites across the city, New York City Council’s Site Safety Training legislation, first passed in 2017, is still being tweaked and is expected to soon become law. It’s at least the second legislative fix to the major construction safety law. City & State New York

 

Rapid retail hiring may have caused first static workplace injury rate since 2012

Last year was the first year since 2012 in which the rate of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private U.S. employers did not decline, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The retail sector accounted for many of the incidents that led to 2018’s static injury and illness rate, possibly due in part to the industry’s rapid growth. HR Dive

 

North Carolina worker injured in scaffolding ladder incident

OSHNC has released preliminary details on its investigation into a construction worker’s fall from scaffolding on November 8. A public information officer for the agency said the ladder was not secured and the worker fell 28 feet to the ground while descending it. The 32-year-old worker suffered fractured legs, ribs, an arm and facial bones. News Herald

 

Trench collapse kills Houston plumber

Fed-OSHA is investigating after a plumber was killed while laying a plumbing line a trench behind a shopping center in north Houston last week. Officials said the trench is at least six feet deep and possibly lacked shoring. CW39 Houston

 

South Florida worker electrocuted while working on power line

A man was electrocuted Friday morning while working on a power line in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Fed-OSHA is investigating. WPLG (Miami)

 

Thursday morning most dangerous for Montana workers, report finds

Thursday mornings were the most dangerous time on the job for Montana workers in 2018, according to a new report from the state Department of Labor and Industry. The industries with the highest rates of injures were manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, construction and healthcare and social assistance. ABC Fox Montana

 

Tech startup’s new device seeks to protect hospital staff from potential violence

According to Fed-OSHA, healthcare workers face four times the rate of serious workplace violence compared to other private industries; nurses are particularly susceptible. A spinout from a software company has come up with a discreet badge they can wear to alert security in case of an incident. In the next several years, the device will be given to all staff members who interact with patients in Philadelphia’s Jefferson Health’s 14 hospitals. Forbes