Taiwan company reaches training deal

• The state of Arizona and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. have reached a deal on workplace safety and training on a huge construction project.
• Arizona’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health created a partnership with the company as part of the Voluntary Protection Program to address concerns by union contractors helping build the TSMC chip-building facility in north Phoenix.
• The state government will invest $500,000 into a downpayment for a program that intends to increase the number of apprenticeships in Arizona.
• The goal is to double the amount of Arizonans in apprenticeships for construction and trades by 2026.
  Read more

Construction company owner pleads guilty after trench collapse

• The owner of a Vail, Colorado, construction company pleaded guilty in connection with a Breckenridge trench collapse in 2021 that killed one worker.
• Peter Dillon, 54, of Gypsum, owner of the now-defunct A4S LLC, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a Class 4 felony.
• He turned himself in after a Summit County judge issued an arrest warrant for him two days prior, according to a release from the OSHA.
• Marlon Alfredo Diaz, 23, an employee of A4S Construction, died in the trench collapse.
  Read more

Marijuana laws complicate OSHA

• An OSHA official claims that the ongoing federal marijuana prohibition makes the agency’s job complicated when it comes to ensuring the safety of workers in the cannabis industry.
• At a recent National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH), meeting, a marijuana regulator who was representing a trade union asked an OSHA official what the agency is doing for people who are starting businesses in the cannabis industry and workplace safety.
• “The cannabis industry is a little bit complicated for federal agencies because cannabis is still illegal at the federal level,” replied Andrew Levinson, director of OSHA’s Directorate of Standards and Guidance.
• A labor union leader has urged the administration to allow OSHA to immediately start work on a national workplace safety standard for legal cannabis businesses, using the regulations set by California as a model.
  Read more

Mold found in Illinois courthouse

• The state of Illinois has issued a hazard alert to Adams County after mold was reportedly found in its courthouse.
• Illinois OSHA, also known as the Occupational Safety and Health Act, received complaints about courthouse mold last month.
• A state investigator inspected the courthouse and issued its findings in a letter.
• OSHA ordered the county to close all of the windows to cut down on humidity that could possibly worsen mold growth.
  Read more