Mark Ghaly, M.D., MPH, California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) secretary, has extended California’s indoor mask mandate by another full month. The masking requirement intended to combat the coronavirus pandemic now runs through February 15. While citing a recent surge in the state’s positivity rate to over 21 percent, Ghaly also noted data on […]
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Fed-OSHA seeks suggestions for strengthening VPP
Fed-OSHA is holding a stakeholder meeting July 17, in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future direction of its Voluntary Protection Programs. The agency’s aim is to “reshape VPP so that it continues to represent safety and health excellence, leverages partner resources, further recognizes the successes of long-term participants, and supports smart program growth.” Fed-OSHA is […]
Curated Content Articles of Interest from Around the Web
- The White House proposed a relatively modest budget increase for OSHA under the Department of Labor’s fiscal year 2025 budget request.
- The Biden administration requested just over $655 million for the agency. That would represent a roughly $23 million increase, or 3.7%, over the current continuing appropriations for FY 2024.
- Much of that proposed increase – around $18.6 million – would go toward enforcement and the addition of 14 inspectors. In contrast, the administration had requested a $106.3 million budget increase – $40 million for enforcement and 142 new inspectors – for 2024.
- OSHA will try to add 432 full-time equivalent employees, including 250 to rebuild and strengthen OSHA’s enforcement program.
Read more - A bill in Connecticut bill would allow employees to bring a civil action in Superior Court if the employee believes that their employer violated certain protections afforded to them in Sections 2-6 of the bill.
- The measure would be required to assess the civil penalty, requiring an investigation conducted by the state’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division (WWSD).
- WWSD is currently operating under a backlog of investigation cases, yet to be assigned, and does not have the resources to divert to an additional mandate.
- A section of the bill would require the WWSD to investigate potential violations if the agency receives notice from the Workers Compensation Commission that an employer “is found to have an annual injury rate at or over one and on half times the warehousing industry’s average annual injury rate.”
Read more - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal Black Lung Program will host three outreach events in West Virginia on March 19-21, 2024, for current and former coal miners disabled by black lung disease, and their families, to file or refile claims for benefits.
- There are currently 4,200 people receiving program benefits in West Virginia. The three-day program is the first hosted by the department in West Virginia in several years.
- The department held similar events in Illinois and Indiana in 2022, and in Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming in 2023.
- “The U.S. Department of Labor encourages current and former coal miners, and survivors in these areas to attend one of these events to learn more about eligibility for benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act,” said Division of Coal Mine Workers’ Compensation Director Mike Chance.
Read more - A home improvement contractor in Maine named Shawn Purvis responded to the state Workers’ Compensation Board on charges that he failed to provide required coverage to employees.
- Purvis was found not guilty in 2021 of workplace manslaughter after his half-brother died from injuries received in a three-story fall at a Portland job site where the Purvis Home Improvement Co. was repairing a roof.
- A federal administrative judge affirmed that Purvis owed $1.6 million in penalties based on safety citations brought against him by OSHA following the worker’s death and a subsequent investigation.
- Purvis argued that as self-employed subcontractors, they are responsible for deciding whether to follow safety standards with the equipment he provides.
Read more
Modest Budget Boost Proposed for OSHA
OSHA to possibly get a bump with budget
Connecticut bill would better protect warehouse workers
Federal regulators reach out to coal miners
Maine roofing contractor back in court