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Itasca, IL — The National Safety Council has acquired ORC HSE Strategies LLC, a move aimed at strengthening the council’s ability to provide workplace safety consulting services to employers and safety leaders at both the national and global levels.

Washington — The Department of Labor is advising OSHA and other enforcement agencies not to publish press releases – “absent extraordinary circumstances” – about fines and penalties levied against employers for worker safety and health violations “before achieving a successful outcome,” according to a DOL guidance memo obtained by The New York Times.

Washington — In an effort to dispel “incorrect claims” about the efficacy of N95 respirators to protect wearers against COVID-19 infection, OSHA has added a section on respirators and particle size to its series of answers to frequently asked questions on protecting workers from exposure to the coronavirus.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has again updated its list of registered disinfectants that can help prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 – extending the total number of disinfectant products on the agency’s sortable, searchable database to more than 500.

Safety+Health presents the results of its annual salary survey – now with more information than before thanks to a partnership with the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

Although it has long-standing roots in public health practice, contact tracing is a new concept for many employers trying to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York — Fewer than 3 out of 10 employees who are working remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic expect to return to their physical workplace by the end of the year, and some groups feel more pressure than others to do so, results of a recent survey suggest.

Lansing, MI — Michigan OSHA, with the support of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), has implemented temporary emergency rules intended to clarify employer requirements for protecting workers from exposure to COVID-19.

In Episode 8, the Safety+Health team discusses the importance of hearing loss prevention efforts in the workplace with Thais Morata, a NIOSH research audiologist. Also, we talk about the safety and health impacts of diversity, equity and inclusion on workers.

Washington — Two dozen Democratic senators have taken issue with the dollar amounts OSHA has chosen to levy against employers in its individual COVID-19-related fines.