Assuring Worker Safety

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Update on Labor Department Nominees

Oct 22, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Joe Main to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health. Main was a long-time safety official at the United Mine Workers Association.

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While Industry Attacks OSHA Nominee, Dems Bypass Hearing

Oct 20, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Tomorrow morning, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of David Michaels, President Obama’s pick to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Michaels nomination was not subject to a confirmation hearing, though he did meet individually with some Senators, according to E&E Daily (subscription).

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Sugar Company Ignored Explosion Hazards, Investigation Concludes

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's (CSB) investigation into the cause of a fatal 2008 explosion at a Georgia sugar refinery concludes that the Imperial Sugar Company and its managers did not take corrective actions to prevent dust explosions, even though they knew of potential hazards. The initial blast and subsequent dust explosions throughout the plant killed 14 workers and injured 36.

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Labor Quashes Bush-Era Risk Assessment Proposal

Aug 31, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Department of Labor (DOL) today officially announced that it will not go forward with a controversial proposal that would have made it more difficult for the government to write new worker protection rules.

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Labor Department to Increase Inspection Force

Aug 21, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Labor Department is planning to hire hundreds of new employees to enforce federal worker protection standards, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Labor Appointees to Pay Workers More Attention

Jul 20, 2009 by Matthew Madia

With the Department of Labor’s new leadership picture coming into focus, it’s clear that regulatory agencies responsible for protecting workers will undertake a more proactive agenda during the Obama administration.

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California Seeks to Add New Chemicals to Prop. 65 List

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is proposing to add 30 chemicals linked to reproductive harm and cancer to the state's Proposition 65 list. Proposition 65, a statute passed by California voters in 1986, requires the state to list chemicals known to cause public health problems and bars some actions that could expose people to the substances.

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OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program Falls down on the Job

Jun 22, 2009 by Matthew Madia

An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) program that gives special treatment to businesses with good safety and health records may be leaving workers vulnerable to on-the-job hazards, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

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When Employers Are Naughty, OSHA Can Only Be Nice

May 29, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is taking enforcement action against Wal-Mart over the death of a New York store employee on Black Friday 2008. Unfortunately, OSHA’s going after the retail giant with all the fury of a box full of kittens.

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Protections for Farmworkers Temporarily Reinstated

May 28, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Department of Labor is officially suspending a Bush administration regulation that stripped agricultural workers of certain housing and wage protections. The rule, one of President Bush’s midnight regulations, was finalized Dec. 18 and went into effect Jan. 17.

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