Workplace
Whistle-blowers punished by system meant to protect them
A collaborative six-month investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting and Salon.com details the failings of whistleblower courts, which are intended to protect employees who speak out against corruption and abuses in government agencies. Instead, this forum is used to punish those who speak out for the public good. The investigation “found that federal whistle-blowers…
Read MoreAmerican Imports, Chinese Deaths
Over a 12-month period, investigative reporter Loretta Tofani traveled to China, examining worker conditions and “observed first-hand how Chinese workers routinely risk their health and sometimes their lives making products for export to the United States and other countries.” Her series, printed in the Salt Lake Tribune, tells of workers using dangerous, outdated machines, sometimes…
Read MoreDiploma mills help firefighters boost pay
The Sacramento Bee‘s Andrew McIntosh reports that “16 Sacramento city firefighters together pocketed $50,000 in extra pay after using bachelor’s degrees purchased from online diploma mills to obtain raises.” In the end, 28 firefighters, including eight captains, tried to obtain a five percent education incentive raise with questionable academic credentials. New York City penalized a…
Read MoreA look at Utah’s mine safety records
Following the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster, Lee Davidson of the Deseret Morning News did a couple of quick-hit stories on mine safety in Utah. The stories detail repeated safety violations in Utah mines and those violations specific to the Crandall Canyon Mine, which were fewer than average for Utah mines.
Read MoreWARN Act riddled with loopholes
In a four-part series, James Drew and Steve Eder of The (Toledo, Ohio) Blade report that a 19-year-old federal law that requires companies to give notice to workers losing their jobs is so full of loopholes and flaws that employers repeatedly skirt it with little or no penalty. A Blade analysis of 226 lawsuits filed…
Read MoreSex and the CIA
David E. Kaplan of U.S. News & World Report reveals how female spy veterans of the CIA are taking legal action for being disciplined over
Read MoreRecords reveal reporter’s criminal past
Joshua Benton of The Dallas Morning News used court records to show that Elizabeth Albanese, who recently stepped down as leader of the Press Club of Dallas, has a criminal record under the name Lisa Albanese centered on allegations of theft. Former co-workers described a history of spinning lies. She also has a record of…
Read MoreOn-duty death benefits denied to firefighters, EMTs
Bill Dedman of MSNBC.com reports that more than three years after President Bush signed the Hometown Heroes Act of 2003, no benefits have been paid to families. The act promises federal benefits to the families of firefighters and EMTs who die of heart attacks or strokes on the job. “The U.S. Justice Department has denied…
Read MoreCampus accidents increase as inspection rates fall
Jeffery Brainard of The Chronicle of Higher Education discovered an increase in accidents on campuses as proper inspections have declined. “Serious accidents in which workers were killed or hospitalized have became more common on college campuses, according to a Chronicle analysis of federal safety-inspection records…nearly 200 significant campus incidents were cited by government officials between…
Read MoreFlaws in firefighters’ safety gear ignored for 5 years
Bill Dedman of MSNBC.com reports that the U.S. government took 5 years to react to warnings made in 2000 that firefighters’ PASS alarms were failing to perform as intended. These units sound an alarm and flash lights if a firefighter has been motionless for 30 seconds. Documents made public under the Freedom of Information Act…
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