Employee dies at New Jersey sewerage facility
The death of a township employee at the Middletown, New Jersey Sewerage Authority, last week in a reported confined space incident, is under investigation by local authorities. NJ Advance Media for NJ.com [may require registration]
Employee fatally pinned at southern Indiana manufacturing plant
An employee was fatally injured Tuesday after becoming pinned in a machine at a Jeffersonville, Indiana manufacturing plant. IOSHA performing a safety and compliance inspection at the facility, which processes aluminum and steel. WDRB
Employer found not at fault in landscaper’s death
Virginia OSHA has issued a report on the death last November of a 37-year-old landscaper in Frederick County, but it did not reach a conclusion as to what caused a truck to roll and run him over, or find fault with his employer in the incident. Northern Virginia Daily
Utah Transit Authority insists it’s safe despite more than 150 assaults on drivers
In Salt Lake City, transit ridership has dropped more than 60% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but assaults on Utah Transit Authority employees have grown exponentially. There were only six reports of assault against an employee in 2018, according to the agency; there have been 150 reports of assault against a UTA employee from January 2020 through April 7, 2022, according to Fox 13 (Salt Lake City).
Oregon OSHA offers resources on new heat rules
The state of Oregon has new rules for working in hot weather that take effect June 15 and start when the temperature hits 80 degrees. Hotter temperatures have more requirements for water, rest breaks, and working in pairs. The rules require training for some employees, according to OR-OSHA, which offers resources for compliance. KXL
Is COVID behind increased flu numbers?
Since the emergence of COVID-19, the seasonal patterns of flu and some other respiratory viruses have changed, though it remains unclear exactly why, but flu cases and hospitalizations in Clark County, Nevada have been rising since March, a time of year when normally they’d be falling, according to the director of disease surveillance and control for the Southern Nevada Health District. Is there a COVID connection? Las Vegas Review-Journal
North Carolina woman claims she lost her job over faulty drug test
A Raleigh, North Carolina certified nursing assistant for more than 20 years who claims she pulled a muscle while lifting a patient and who reportedly failed a drug test when she sought medical assistance says her urinalysis drug test results were incorrect, and she lost her job despite a negative hair folllicle test. WRAL (Raleign, N.C.)