Amazon can shield some data

• Amazon was able to obtain a temporary protective order over some of the confidential documents it will turn over to the Justice Department and OSHA as part of workplace safety and other investigations.
• OSHA is investigating Amazon worker safety
• The order was issued from the bench Thursday by Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington and it would cover only documents Amazon is scheduled to provide on Sept. 30 and a deposition.
• If federal prosecutors decide they want to share the material and testimony with others, they must notify Amazon 10 days in advance.
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Federal legislation deals with opioid crisis

• A bill introduced in the House would direct OSHA to create employer guidance on acquiring opioid overdose reversal medication and training workers on its use.
• U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, introduced the Workplace Overdose Reversal Kits to Save Lives Act on Sept. 12. The bill has 16 co-sponsors.
• Under the bill, OSHA would have nine months after the legislation is enacted to publish the nonmandatory guidance.
• Overdose deaths of all types accounted for nearly 9% of workplace injury deaths in 2021, according to the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts.
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Antitrust measure tackles workplace abuses

• Regulators could begin to look at companies’ history of labor law violations when it comes to mergers and acquisitions.
• Under the proposed changes, the companies would need to disclose their five-year history of citations from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
• The firms would also need to share their employees’ job categories and geographical information on where workers may overlap post-merger.
• The effort to expand what information companies must disclose to antitrust enforcers is part of a broader push by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department to consider the impact on labor markets from mergers and acquisitions.
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OSHA further analyzes store shooting

• OSHA is investigating a mass shooting at the New Town Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida.
• AJ Laguerre Jr., 19, worked at the store and was one of the victims.
• Jacksonville Labor and Employment Attorney James Poindexter said an inspection is triggered any time a death happens in the workplace, but a “complete probe” is more in-depth.
• Since 2017, OSHA has fined Dollar General $21 million for violations.
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