OSHA has to be ready for future pandemics

• David Michaels, former assistant secretary of labor for OSHA under President Barack Obama, contends the agency should take steps to better protect workers in future pandemics, including issuing a federal pandemic preparedness standard.
• OSHA was limited in its power and made little impact on worker protection during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Michaels.
• Recommendations for better-protecting workers in future pandemics include providing more resources to OSHA and establishing federal requirements for employers to offer paid medical leave.
• Employers should also improve workplace ventilation, filtration, and disinfection; reduce crowding; and provide personal protective equipment such as respirators.
  Read more

Florida labor contractor faces penalties after farmworker dies

• A 28-year-old worker from Mexico with a work visa was killed at his new job at a Parkland, Florida farm, where vegetables awaited harvesting.
• Co-workers found him unresponsive in a shallow drainage ditch after he experienced symptoms related to heat illness.
• An investigation by OSHA determined that Rafael Barajas, the Okeechobee farm labor contractor who hired the young farmworker, could have prevented his death by following established safety practices regarding heat-related hazards.
• OSHA cited Barajas for one serious violation for exposing workers to hazards associated with high ambient heat while working in direct sunlight. The contractor faces $15,625 in proposed penalties, an amount set by federal statute.
  Read more

Fallout from Cirque du Soleil accident

• After an experienced performer was injured onstage during a presentation of “O,” waster-themed production, two senior officials were placed on leave from the Las Vegas show, according to Cirque du Soleil.
• Performer Kyle Mitrione fractured his neck after he hit a landing with his head as the set piece rose from the show’s aquatic stage.
• The company announced Senior Company Manager Tony Ricotta and Senior Artistic Director Pierre Parisien are on leave from the show.
• Nevada OSHA has up to six months to issue a citation, but the timeframe is based on several variables.
  Read more

Company cited for crane collapse

• A South Florida construction company was cited and is facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines in connection with a December crane collapse on Interstate 95 in Broward that left one worker dead and another hospitalized.
• OSHA issued citations for four serious violations to the De Moya Group in the Dec. 5, 2022 incident.
• A 90-foot-long concrete pile weighing 35,000 pounds broke free from restraints when the supporting crane shifted in unstable soil. The concrete then struck the lift’s boom, causing the two carpenters to fall onto the highway below.
• One of the workers, 46-year-old Joseph Jorel Bien Aime, was killed while a 52-year-old worker suffered severe leg injuries.
  Read more