House committee approves major increase in Fed-OSHA penalties
The House Committee on Education and Labor has approved a five-fold increase in penalties for violations of Fed-OSHA standards. If Congress finalizes the change, the maximum penalties for willful, repeated, and failure-to-abate violations would rise from $136,532 to $700,000. The last time significant Fed-OSHA penalty increases were enacted was in 2016. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
Georgia poultry plant sues for insurance money in deadly nitrogen leak
Owners of the Gainesville, Georgia poultry plant where a nitrogen leak killed six employees in late January are suing to collect insurance for their losses arising out of the tragic even. The factory has blamed the deaths on the company it hired to do maintenance on production lines. Fed-OSHA has handed down a total of 59 violations and nearly $1 million in fines to four companies in connection with the incident. Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A “Doctor’s Statement” prepared by an international alliance of doctors and medical scientists strongly condemns the global strategy to treat COVID, accusing policymakers of possible “crimes against humanity” that prevent doctors from providing life-saving treatments for their patients and suppressing open scientific discussion. By 1 p.m. Friday, the statement had collected more than 3,100 signatures from doctors and scientists around the world. Awsforwp
Massachusetts police union says dozens of state troopers have quit over vaccine mandate
A Massachusetts police union last last week said dozens of state troopers have resigned over a COVID vaccine mandate for state employees. According to the Boston Herald, about 20 percent of the police union’s members were still unvaccinated last week. Daily Mail
North Carolina hospital system fires 175 employees who have not gotten vaccinated
Novant Health, a massive hospital system in North Carolina that has made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for its employees, suspended 375 employees across 15 hospitals and 800 clinics last week for not complying with the mandate. More than 99 percent of the hospital system’s 35,000 employees are vaccinated, according to a hospital official. The company announced its mandatory vaccination policy in July, with a deadline of September 15. CBS News