Lawmakers look into Amazon safety

• The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has launched an investigation into Amazon’s workplace safety practices.
• OSHA is also investigating conditions at several warehouses, while the U.S. Department of Justice is also examining whether Amazon underreports injuries.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders has criticized the company’s high turnover and injury rates, in addition to its medical treatment of injured workers.
• An Amazon spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with Sanders’ claims.
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OSHA probes death at Lambeau Field

• OSHA is investigating the deadly incident in the construction zone of Lambeau Field and the investigation could take up to six months to complete.
• The worker, Joshua Shaw, of Clintonville, Wisconsin, was a second-generation employee and worked alongside his father and brother.
• Shaw, 27, had to be extricated from a construction site at the stadium while working for Mavid Construction, a subcontractor of Miron Construction that has been working at the stadium.
• “The Green Bay Packers organization extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of the Mavid Construction employee who succumbed Saturday to the injuries he suffered,” the team said in a statement.
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Labor Dept. wants small-business input on safety

• The U.S. Department of Labor urges small business owners and representatives from local government entities to join OSHA and other government agencies for a series of upcoming discussions on the potential impacts of a workplace heat standard on small businesses.
• With the U.S. commonly experiencing rising temperatures, hazards associated with exposure to high temperatures in the workplace are also increasing.
• OSHA is developing a potential standard for workplaces — in which the agency has jurisdiction — to prevent heat illness and injury in outdoor and indoor environments in general industry and in the construction, maritime, and agriculture industries.
• As part of its process, OSHA is holding Small Business Advocacy Review Panel meetings in the summer 2023 to gather views on the potential effects of a heat standard on small businesses.
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Upcoming fee changes for student course completion cards

• OSHA has upcoming changes in fees for issuing new student course completion cards for its Outreach Training Program.
• Effective Oct. 1, 2023, OSHA will increase the fee for new course completion cards from $8 to $10 per card to address significant cost changes associated with producing and distributing the cards. The new fee reflects the first cost increase since 2017.
• OSHA also announced the agency will adjust the fee every two years if needed based on the Consumer Price Index.
• Fees for replacement cards, established by the Authorizing Training Organizations, may also be affected by this cost increase. Workers who already have outreach cards do not need to request replacements.
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