One of the places where one cannot err on the side of caution is at a construction site. Danger looms around a construction site. Falls, hits from dropping items, the collapse of the edifice, and slipping off are all potential hazards of construction sites. Although unforeseen circumstances make it impossible to declare a construction site …
5 Safety Tips To Remember When Managing A Construction Site Read More »
America’s frontline healthcare workers have rightly been called our country’s real superheroes. But the truth is that the US healthcare system is falling far short in its obligation to protect these essential workers in the face of the worst global pandemic in more than a century. A Failure to Protect It should perhaps come as …
Health and Safety Standards for Frontline Healthcare Workers Read More »
When COVID-19 began making headlines in March, Charles Collins pulled out a protective face mask from the supply at the manufacturing company in Rockaway, New Jersey, where he was the shop foreman and put it on. The dozen or so other workers at the facility followed suit. There was no way to maintain a safe …
Workers Fired, Penalized for Reporting COVID Safety Violations Read More »
According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, there were 2.8 million injuries in the workplace. On average, a worker injury costs a company between $38,000 and $150,000. As a facility safety manager, your job is to minimize hazards and save the company money by decreasing injuries in the workplace. However, that’s often easier …
4 Overlooked Workplace Safety Hazards and What You Can Do About It Read More »
Two reports out this week show how badly the Trump administration is failing workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The AFL-CIO’s annual Death on the Job report looks at 9,051 complaints workers have sent the Occupational Safety and Health Administration expressing concern about safety on the job during the pandemic. OSHA has investigated just 198 of them, and 85 of …
OSHA is doing virtually nothing to protect workers in the pandemic Read More »
Washington, DC—Brand-new analysis by Deborah Berkowitz and Shayla Thompson of the National Employment Law Project (NELP) shows that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has failed to protect COVID safety whistleblowers who filed retaliation complaints. NELP analyzed OSHA’s public data showing 1,744 COVID-19-related retaliation complaints filed by workers from April through August 9, and found: …
Report: OSHA Investigated, Resolved Only 2% of COVID Retaliation Complaints Read More »
Hibaq Mohamed has worked for Amazon nearly as long as she’s been in the United States. In 2016, the twenty-something Somali immigrant landed in Minnesota by way of a refugee camp, joining one of the largest East African communities in the country. She soon joined the legion of workers who fuel the state’s main Amazon facility, the …
Meet the Warehouse Worker Who Took On Amazon Over Inhumane Conditions and Harassment Read More »
When the meatpacking industry was hit with major coronavirus outbreaks back in the spring, there was no question about making workers’ lives a priority—it was always out of the question. This is an industry with high injury rates and low wages for its vulnerable population of workers, with its many people of color and immigrants. Industry executives have built …
Meatpacking industry got its way on COVID-19 policies, and workers died Read More »
Worker safety is a top concern for facilities everywhere. While safety training and precautions can go a long way towards ensuring workers’ safety, safety really begins with a facility’s initial design and construction. If a facility is haphazardly designed, no amount of safety training can combat that. But what sort of design decisions make a …
How Worker Safety Starts With Facilities Construction And Intelligent Design Read More »
The rush to keep building through the pandemic has compounded the risks for construction workers. The recovery of the construction industry in the United States after the lockdowns imposed by the pandemic has been remarkable. Activity in the industry, based on data on workers’ hours, returned since May to pre-lockdown levels in 34 states, and construction spending …
The Return of the Construction Industry Has Brought a Surge of Immigrant Worker Deaths Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
