News

Washington — Fatal motor vehicle crashes among law enforcement officers are on course for their lowest total since the 1980s, according to an analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis.

Boston — A measure to extend OSHA protections to an estimated 400,000 Massachusetts public employees, including those in state and local governments, was unanimously approved by the state House on March 1.

Washington — The Department of Labor is seeking to recover $67 million in unpaid health and safety fines issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration over the past decade, Secretary R. Alexander Acosta said during a hearing March 6 on the fiscal year 2019 budget.

Londonderry, NH — Fatalities among tree care workers dipped nearly 22 percent in 2017, while incidents decreased about 16 percent, according to a recent analysis from the Tree Care Industry Association.

Washington — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s “2-for-1” deregulatory Executive Order, ruling that the plaintiffs have not shown how the order would harm their organizations or members.

Orlando, FL — The U.S. Army’s Tactical Communications and Protective System is the recipient of this year’s NIOSH Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award, presented Feb. 16 at the National Hearing Conservation Association’s annual conference.

Silver Spring, MD — Caught-in or caught-between incidents resulted in 275 construction worker deaths from 2011 to 2015 – the most of any major industry – according to a recent report from the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).

Chicago — Opioid-related overdoses claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 Midwest construction workers in 2015 – part of an opioid crisis that cost the region’s industry more than $5 billion in health care expenses and lost time and production, according to a recent report from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute.

Washington — States that have made “significant” safety improvements in recent years by incorporating Chemical Safety Board recommendations are highlighted in the agency’s inaugural Safety Spotlight publication.

Grain Valley, MO — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has sent a petition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeking to alter current hours-of-service regulations, the association announced Feb. 14.