Black Lung Jobs Restored... for Now

A federal judge ordered the restoration of jobs in NIOSH’s Respiratory Health Division after a veteran coal miner filed a class action lawsuit arguing that the mass firings would lead to irreparable harm.
A preliminary injunction, issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Irene Berger in the suit against the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., restored jobs in the NIOSH Respiratory Health Division as well as the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program.
When questioned about the cuts in a May 14 Congressional hearing, Kennedy confirmed that 328 workers at NIOSH facilities in Morgantown, West Virginia (about a third of them) and Cincinnati, Ohio and at the World Trade Center Health Program have been reinstated out of the approximately 900 mass firings he initially ordered.
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The United Steelworkers last month passed a resolution to “redouble” organizational efforts to “prevent occupational fatalities, injuries, illnesses and accidents.”
According to the union, 68 worker fatalities in USW-represented facilities were reported from July 1, 2022, through March 17, 2024.
Among the actions pledged in the effort, USW delegates expect to advocate at all levels of government to ensure strict occupational exposure limits and protections exist in mining and other sectors.
As well, USW said it will expand efforts to educate members about their rights under the union contract and law, including the right to refuse unsafe work.
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A bipartisan bill to develop an interstate compact to develop nationwide rules governing racetrack safety for horse racing has been introduced in Congress.
The Racehorse Health and Safety Act would replace the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020.
“This legislation protects horses and horsemen while reasserting state sovereignty and pushing back against federal oppression,” said co-sponsor Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA).
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A Clayco executive said his company’s analysis of safety data found that one-in-ten slip, trip and fall-related events involved ladders, leading the contractor to encourage safer alternatives — such as lifts or scaffolding — and in some cases, required a permit for the tools’ use.
Todd Friis, senior vice president of risk management at Clayco, told participants in a recent OSHA-sponsored Construction Safety Week panel about his company’s “Ladders Last” initiative.
“We use data every week, and more often as needed, to really evaluate where we’re at, and kind of keep a pulse on what’s happening within the company,” Friis told viewers, as reported by Construction Dive.
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Traffic accidents that result in severe, complex injuries are one of the leading causes of large losses in workers’ compensation, NCCI’s Brian Stein said in a session at the group’s Annual Insights Symposium (AIS).
He said that a motor vehicle accident (MVA) is some 70% more costly than the average lost-time claim.
One reason for that is that an MVA is more than twice as likely as other claims to result in multiple injured body parts.
NCCI’s research revealed that while overall frequency continues to decline, MVA frequency has not shown improvement, with the exception of a decrease during the pandemic. Year-on-year changes then bounced back.
The trucking industry has seen improvements, with consecutive yearly declines in MVA frequency, which Stein said could be due, in part, to the successful implementation of technology, for example dash cameras.
A comprehensive summary of all of the workers compensation insights and analysis presented at this week’s NCCI Annual Insights Symposium is now available.
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