Oregon OSHA has issued few penalties during pandemic, despite record complaints
Nearly three months after the state’s shutdown order, OR-OSHA has handed down few penalties against employers that have allegedly disobeyed restrictions on social distancing and other health and safety measures. The agency reportedly has logged nearly 4,900 complaints following the March 23 order from Gov. Kate Brown. Salem Reporter
More than 1 out of 3 tested federal inmates test positive
The federal Bureau of Prisons reports that more than 35 percent of federal inmates tested for COVID-19 received positive test results. Prisons with high percentages of inmates testing positive are scattered throughout the country. For example, at Federal Correctional Institution Butner in North Carolina, 226 out of 295 inmates tested received positive results. KPQ
Plant employee dies after seeking greater safety protections
A 45-year-old Wisconsin man who collapsed in late May while on the assembly line of his job, and died several days later, had been pushing for more safety measures at his workplace, according to his family. In response to the fatality, an immigrant and workers advocacy group says it sent a public letter to the company and filed a complaint with Fed-OSHA requesting greater access to COVID-19 testing for employees, a mandatory mask-wearing policy and ensuring six feet of distance in all departments and production lines. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Attorney discusses liability waivers and questionnaires, as business reopen
As businesses begin to reopen, business owners should explore requiring employees and, in certain circumstances, customers, to execute a liability waiver or complete a questionnaire regarding COVID-19 prior to returning to the physical workspace, writes attorney William A. Oden III, of Ward and Smith, P.A. However, business owners also should consider the negative implications of liability waivers. National Law Review
Proper workplace use of respirators poster now available in 16 languages
Fed-OSHA has published the “Seven Steps to Correctly Wear a Respirator at Work” poster in 14 additional languages. Initially available in English and Spanish, the poster demonstrates and describes seven steps every employee should follow when putting on and taking off an N95 respirator. Collision Week
Outbreak at greenhouse exposes migrants’ vulnerability
Little is known about the chain of events that caused a New York greenhouse to become a COVID-19 hotspot, but officials say it had more to do with the way employees lived than the way they worked. Times Telegram