Occupational Safety and Health Administration News

Complaint May Spur Review of Meat Industry’s Virus Response

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A union complaint about whether an Oklahoma meatpacking plant is doing enough to protect workers from the coronavirus could test the industry’s response to the pandemic because Seaboard Foods says it is following recommendations from the …

Most U.S. Firms Hit With Covid-19 Safety Fines Aren’t Paying Up

U.S. workplace safety regulators have announced more than $4 million in penalties on more than 300 employers they say put workers at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. But about two-thirds of these employers aren’t paying up. Only 108 companies had …

Regulators Ignored Workers’ COVID-19 Safety Complaints Amid Deadly Outbreaks

Miguel Cabezola, a driver for United Parcel Service Inc in Tucson, Arizona, complained on March 27 to U.S. workplace safety regulators, alleging the company was taking a lax approach to social distancing, sanitizing equipment and quarantining workers with COVID-19 symptoms. …

Acrobats Hurt in Circus Accident Reach $52.5M Settlement

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Eight acrobats severely injured when the rigging suspending them by their hair plummeted to the floor during a circus performance in Rhode Island in 2014 have reached a $52.5 million settlement with the ownership and management …

Viewpoint: COVID-19 OSHA Whistleblower Claims on the Rise as Virus Rages on

A recent report from the federal government revealing that workplace safety whistleblower claims have exponentially increased during the pandemic should give all employers pause – and should motivate you to take immediate steps to ensure you don’t find yourself on …

Agriculture Workers Risk Safety and Health During Pandemic

States such as Virginia, Oregon and Washington have created their own enforceable rules to control, prevent and mitigate the spread of the virus among farmworkers. But federal mandates are necessary to ensure that employers are doing enough to protect workers, …

Colorado Workers Protest Covid-19 Fine Issued to Meat Plant

DENVER — A union representing workers at a Colorado meatpacking plant where six workers died of COVID-19 and hundreds more were infected will stage a protest Wednesday, claiming that federal officials should have fined the company more for its alleged …

OSHA Inspector Called Ahead of Meat Plant Visit, to Be Safe

A federal safety inspector tipped off a coronavirus-tainted Pennsylvania meatpacking plant before visiting the next day — then failed to issue a citation, according to testimony in a lawsuit accusing the agency of failing to do its job. The inspector …

Outbreak at Iowa Pork Plant Was Larger Than State Reported

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The first confirmed coronavirus outbreak at an Iowa meatpacking plant was far more severe than previously known, with more than twice as many workers becoming infected than the state Department of Public Health told the public, …

U.S. Issues First Coronavirus Workplace Guidance to Nursing Homes

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes on Thursday since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6 feet (1.83 meters) apart. The alert …