Workplace
Extra Extra Monday: A ruling’s tainted legacy, a botched signature and corporate catch shares
The New York TimesRuled a Threat to Family, but Allowed to Keep Guns“Advocates for domestic violence victims have long called for stricter laws governing firearms and protective orders. Their argument is rooted in a grim statistic: when women die at the hand of an intimate partner, that hand is more often than not holding a…
Read MoreOSHA assessing state safety offices’ effectiveness
“Problems in Nevada four years ago have federal officials still trying to determine whether states with their own workplace safety agencies are as good as OSHA.”
Read MoreCongressional staffers often travel on tabs of foreign governments
A Washington Post examination of congressional disclosures revealed the extent of this congressional travel for the first time, finding that Hill staffers had reported taking 803 such trips in the six years ending in 2011.
Read MoreEagle Ford pay is high, but work can be fatal
“Since 2009, at least 11 employees working for drilling companies and spinoff industries in Eagle Ford Shale counties have suffered horrific deaths that could have been prevented, according to OSHA investigations obtained under the Freedom of Information Act,” the Express-News reported.
Read MoreDespite drop in workplace deaths, oil industry still averages 39 per year
“The Houston Chronicle analyzed five years of fatal oil patch accident reports and found Texas oil and gas field fatalities consistently averaged 39 per year – the highest number among any occupation investigated by OSHA in the Lone Star State.” “Three companies – two in Houston and one in Tulsa- reported more than three fatal…
Read More“Star” El Diario reporter’s murder case remains unsolved
“Choco was the first journalist to fall victim to the turf war between the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels that engulfed the state of Chihuahua from 2007 to 2011. He was not the last. In July, the special prosecutor for crimes against journalists in Mexico testified that 67 journalists had been killed in that country since 2006.…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Student debt, river debates, lead contamination and opiate addictions
Milwaukee Journal SentinelThe Wrong-Way River“Biologists predict the number of unwanted organisms moving on the Chicago canal will only grow until the waterway is somehow plugged. And it is much more than a Great Lakes problem because biological pollution travels both directions on this invasive species superhighway.” The Morning CallAmazon warehouse workers fight for unemployment benefits“Its…
Read MoreArmored car industry leaves workers unprotected
A lack of industry regulation, jurisdictional confusion at the federal level and trucks in bad conditions leave armored car drivers unprotected, The Texas Observer reports. The Bureau of Labor statistics reports an average of four deaths in the armored car industry per year, but experts say they have yet to see a figure on fatalities…
Read MoreState of sexual harassment payouts
The Asbury Park Press reports that although New Jersey has paid millions in sexual harassment cases, little has been done to change the culture in some agencies.
Read MoreCompany at San Francisco International Airport Neglects Baggage Screening
“Baggage screeners at San Francisco International Airport allege that dozens if not hundreds of bags identified by X-ray machines as high-risk bomb threats are loaded onto planes each day without any human inspection in a clear violation of federal rules.” “In interviews conducted over the past year, six company screeners told The San Francisco Examiner…
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