A recent study relying upon data culled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and more than 40 other job-related databases sheds light on just how much construction accidents and other workplace injuries cost the United States each year, in terms of medical costs, lowered productivity and related factors. Here’s how much, according to…
Construction and industrial enterprises are not deemed equal, at least in the estimation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which tags some of them “model workplaces” that qualify for exemptions and comparatively special treatment pursuant to the agency’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The program is open to employers that have demonstrated to…
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) underscored the intensity of a recent congressional debate centered on construction accident issues when he pointedly asked a colleague who fervently opposes a new OSHA proposal that would put beefed-up restrictions on residential roofers this question: “Have you ever fallen off a roof?” For years, the benchmark safety standard for…
For many Americans, the just-passed Labor Day might be a holiday like many others, that is, a day off from work without much reflection on the reason underlying the holiday itself. With Labor Day, though, which was established to honor American workers in all professions and their contributions to the country through its progression…
Construction work is, obviously, hard work, and a construction accident in Ohio is far from a singular occurrence. The state sees non-stop activity in projects of all types from one end to the other, and the potential is always there for a fall, a scaffolding injury, a cave in, burn or other construction-related accident….
Ohio can be a rough place to work outside for construction and other workers, especially in summer. Especially this summer. Workers in states across the country, including Ohio, have spent much of their time from June until now sweltering through temperatures that are at or near historic highs. That kind of weather breeds exhaustion,…
The most serious safety citation that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issues for dangerous workplace conduct or conditions is a “willful violation.” OSHA deems that an employer cited for a willful violation either knew or should reasonably have known that a hazardous condition existed that would likely result in the death or…
The National Safety Council deems June as National Safety Month each year, promoting initiatives throughout the month that highlight and stress enhanced safety and the reduction of deaths and injuries in American workplaces. In recognition of National Safety Month, The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (“BWC”) has announced the addition of two new safety…
Republic Engineered Products Inc., headquartered in Canton, Ohio, is well-known by OSHA officials. And not in a good way. At its Lorain facility alone, inspections have been carried out 25 times since 1990, with agency investigators levying fines and issuing citations more than 75 times. Those violations relate to a number of safety concerns,…
Saying that a Michigan construction company was “inviting tragedy on the job” by failing to safely protect employees from excavation accidents while they were working on a construction project in Toledo, an Ohio Department of Labor spokesperson announced penalties of $54,600 against the company. WPM Construction Services of Grand Blanc, Michigan, was inspected in…