News

Austin, TX – Shorter words and sentences, clearer headings, and less jargon are among the changes the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation has made to its form letters for injured employees.

Grain Valley, MO – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association plans to continue its legal pursuit in Congress after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 12 against hearing a lawsuit challenging a federal mandate requiring commercial motor vehicle drivers to use electronic devices in place of paper logs.

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking to help remedy what the agency calls a national shortage of qualified truck and bus drivers by proposing two regulatory changes for obtaining a commercial driver’s license.

Washington – Scott Angelle is the new director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal agency announced May 22. His appointment was effective May 23.

Fairfax, VA – The National Utility Contractors Association, with support from OSHA, is calling on employers whose workers perform trench work to participate in a Trench Safety Stand Down during the week of June 19-24.

Washington – NIOSH and OSHA recently teamed up to update a heat safety mobile app that uses temperature and humidity to measure heat index values.

Washington – Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta on June 7 addressed the possible elimination of the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program while re-affirming the Department of Labor’s commitment to compliance assistance in his first appearance before the House Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Washington – Organizational changes in the workplace lead workers to experience chronic stress and the desire to change jobs, as well as a decrease in trust of their employer, according to the results of a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association.

Washington – The Department of Labor and OSHA have an “identical” interest with labor unions in defending a legal challenge to the Improve Tracking of Workplace Illnesses and Injuries final rule, making union intervention unnecessary, attorneys representing DOL said in a legal brief issued May 30.

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing a pilot program that would allow certain commercial motor vehicle drivers to split sleeper berth time while still complying with hours-of-service regulations, according to a notice published in the June 6 Federal Register.