Labor

Boston – Massachusetts is closer to extending OSHA protections to an estimated 400,000 public workers after the state’s House on Oct. 25 voted unanimously in favor of a bill (H. 3952) that boosts safety standards for all state and municipal government employees.

Boston – An integrated approach that employs “a sharp focus on using policies and practices to influence working conditions” can improve worker safety, health and well-being, according to a new manual published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Washington – Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) has introduced legislation intended to protect employees of companies that perform work for the federal government.

Washington – Noting that “regulators of high-hazard industries must have an informed and reasoned basis for making their regulatory choices,” a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states that clarifying design concepts of safety regulations in industries such as transportation, chemical manufacturing, and offshore oil and gas development – and exploring how various circumstances may impact them – can help.

Washington – The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is seeking comments on a draft of its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.

Washington – Citing a “knowledge gap related to robotics and worker safety and health,” NIOSH has launched the Center for Occupational Robotics Research in an effort to evaluate the possible advantages and hazards of robot workers, as well as foster safe robot-human interactions.

Washington – Poultry workers and officials from 13 nonprofit organizations and unions met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Oct. 16 to urge the department to reject an industry petition to allow faster and unrestricted line speeds in production plants, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Redmond, WA – Lifting and material handling manufacturer Genie Industries has issued a safety recall for certain aerial lifts, stating that some mounting brackets on the Operator’s Protective Alarm may loosen and possibly fall from the machine, creating a collision hazard.

Salem, OR – The Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition is hosting a video contest intended to inspire the state’s high school students to raise awareness about on-the-job safety among young workers.

Washington – OSHA has released two new fact sheets: one on preventing Zika virus exposure in biomedical laboratory workers and the other on evaluating Shipyard Competent Person programs.