Private employers reported 2.8 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses nationally in 2019, according to data just released by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) also reports that the total recordable rate for the country was 2.8 cases per 100 full-time equivalent employees, unchanged from both 2018 …
Here are the latest workplace fatalities, including new COVID cases. In Santa Ana, a communication installer for Vector USA, an information technology contractor, sustained a head injury after falling six feet from a ladder in early October. He died four days after the incident. DOSH learned of the fatality almost two weeks later. In San …
While California stakeholders await the release of the Cal/OSHA draft proposal for a general industry COVID emergency regulation, Oregon is closing in on a temporary standard of its own. It is no less controversial. Oregon OSHA has been working on its standard longer and appears to have been more inclusive than many in California say …
A new online tool from State Compensation Insurance Fund aims to help employers create an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program. The program is free and open to all, even those who aren’t State Fund clients. “We know that the IIPP is the foundation of a good safety program and we want employers to be …
Cal-OSHA Reporter is fond of saying that safety professionals are the unsung heroes of the workplace. When one of those heroes calls it a career, it’s appropriate to “sing” their story. In this case it is Bob Downey, CSP, MS, whose safety career has spanned half a century, most recently as a consultant, many years …
The quest for a commercial product to detect marijuana use has hit a detour, thanks to the pandemic, but could be back on the market path in 2021. One company that appears to be close is Oakland’s Hound Labs, which says it has a waitlist of potential customers. It is targeting roll out for next …
As Cal/OSHA heads to a self-imposed November deadline to vote on an emergency rule for COVID compliance, employer groups are pressing the agency to release the draft standard publicly. Some …
Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating 11 new workplace fatalities, seven of them related to COVID-19. First, the non-COVID deaths: In Signal Hill, an employee of Mark’s Mobile Truck Service was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering the amputation of two fingers. No other information is available yet on the relationship …