Fed-OSHA compliance officer, sibling, charged with extortion
A Fed-OSHA compliance safety and health officer and his brother are charged with conspiring to extort $6,000 from a general contractor following a complaint inspection in North Bergen, New Jersey, according to federal prosecutors. Hudson Reporter
Fed-OSHA investigating fatal elevator accident in Boston
A woman was killed in an elevator accident in a five-story Boston apartment building on Monday. Police found her body in the elevator on the first floor. Fed-OSHA is investigating. The Day (New London, Conn.)
Construction company at Texas crane collision site cited twice in 10 years
According to Fed-OSHA an Addison, Texas-based construction company involved in a crane collision that injured 22 people at an Austin development was cited in 2013 and 2017. Sixteen of the injured were hospitalized. KVUE (Austin) [with video]
Memorial marks year since deadly Farmington gas explosion
It has been one year since a gas explosion in Farmington, Maine destroyed a two-story building, killing a 30-year veteran of the fire department, and injuring several other people. The firemen had been called to the office building for a propane leak. One employee of the business uffered severe burns on over half his body, multiple traumas, broken bones and critical injuries in the blast. A drive-by memorial was scheduled for Wednesday. Bangor Daily News
New law holds New Jersey employers responsible for essential employees with COVID
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy this week approved a bill granting a wide degree of job protections to “essential” employees who contract COVID-19 by creating a legal presumption they contracted it on the job. Business groups generally oppose the measure and instead support a bill that would grant legal immunity to businesses against claims from employees and customers that they caught the virus while on the premises. NJBiz
Massachusetts utility employee seriously injured when pole snaps
A utility employee in Melrose, Massachusetts was seriously injured Monday afternoon when the pole he was working on snapped and fell to the ground, leaving him covered in live wires. The employee was rescued and subsequently hospitalized. WHDH
PERC marks Construction Safety Week with new resources
The Propane Education & Research Council, n observance of Construction Safety Week, released a collection of resources to help support the construction industry’s ongoing commitment to safety. They include a variety of safety tips related to propane-powered light construction equipment and resources that construction professionals and safety advocates can download and use within their own organizations. For Construction Pros
Fed-OSHA updates rule on medical records access
To carry out its statutory obligations, Fed-OSHA on occasion needs to review employee medical records. The agency has issued a final rule revising its procedures for accessing these records, with specific requirements for safeguarding electronic medical records that are more consistent with current medical recordkeeping practices, and that shift authority to manage the procedures to a Fed-OSHA Medical Records Officer. Two attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond discuss the agency’s procedures for employee medical records access. National Law Review