Fed-OSHA fines Pennsylvania framing contractor for fall hazards
Fed-OSHA has fined a framing contractor more than $603,000 for willfully exposing employees to fall hazards at residential construction sites in three Pennsylvania towns. According to the agency, the company failed to provide fall protection equipment and training, improperly used ladders, had deficient walking/working surfaces and inadequate fire protection. WFMZ (Allentown, Pa.)
Foundry whistleblower awarded $40K
A jury recently awarded $40,000 for lost wages, pain and suffering and punitive damages to a former employee of an iron-casting company the employee claimed terminated him in 2015 for reporting alleged safety and health hazards to Fed-OSHA. The employee reportedly informed the agency that water was leaking onto an electric box. Reading Eagle
Searchers remove bodies of two who died in Colorado trench collapse
Crews early Wednesday recovered the bodies of two men who died when a trench collapsed on them at a housing construction site in Windsor, Colorado on Tuesday. Fed-OSHA is investigating. The rescue attempt, which turned into a recovery, was made difficult because the soil covering the victims was cement-like, according to officials. More than 60 rescuers were on the scene from various agencies. Fort Collins Coloradan
Wyoming OSHA fines employer $10K in fatal trench collapse
Wyoming OSHA has fined a resort company more than $10,000 for five serious violations following a trench collapse that killed two men last year at a house construction site. Lack of adequate cave-in protection was cited. The September collapse occurred in a 12-foot- deep, 41-foot-long trench. Jackson Hole News & Guide
Five trench deaths in less than 10 days
Two workers in Ohio and one in Tennessee, a municipal employee, died in trench collapses between April 2 and 8. Equipment World
Senators ask for full funding of firefighter cancer registry
A bipartisan group of senators has requested $2.5 million to fully fund the Firefighter Cancer Registry, which collects and monitors the prevalence, incidence and types of cancers among firefighters. Legislation creating the national registry was passed and signed into law last summer. NH Labor News