The settlement requires Hovnanian to develop improved pollution prevention plans for each construction site, conduct additional site inspections, and promptly correct any problems detected.
The Governors Highway Safety Association projects that fatalities fell nationwide from 5,290 in 2008 to 4,762 or fewer in 2009, marking the first decline after 11 years of increases.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration began an "inspection blitz" last weekend, visiting 57 coal mines with a history of significant violations or conditions relating to methane accumulations, ventilation practices, rock dust applications, and inadequate mine examinations.
"Our inspection found that the blades on this and other saws lacked the guarding designed to prevent just this type of accident," said Diana Cortez, OSHA's area director in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Food and Drug Administration has announced a new initiative to ensure that caregivers and patients safely use complex medical devices in the home.
Cited violations against the company include failing to provide safe work practice procedures for hot work in a confined space, failing to prevent cutting operations in the presence of explosive atmospheres, and the lack of procedures for summoning resuce and emergency services.
Are we seeing the new face of OSHA? David Michaels said the agency is doing what it can to administratively raise the dollar amounts of its penalties and adopting a new structure for penalty reductions based on the company's employee count.
A respiratory therapist and a police office were infected with bacterial meningitis after being exposed to a patient Dec. 3, but the Oakland hospital where he was treated did not report it to the local health department as quickly as the standard requires, according to Cal/OSHA.
"If the employer had implemented the recommended safety procedures by having proper machine guarding on equipment, these needless injuries could have been avoided," said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA's area director in Mobile, Ala.
"There is no excuse for this accident," said Charles Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "This worker should not have been allowed to work in the machine without energy sources being locked out."
On April 13, the Food and Drug Administration published guidance for small egg producers to help them comply with a 2009 federal egg safety regulation designed to prevent Salmonella Enteritidis in shell eggs during production, transportation, and storage.
With the exception of three 13-year-olds, the 1,482 minors the company employed were 14 and 15 years of age.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Alabama lawyer Patrick K. Nakamura to be a member for a six-year term expiring Aug. 30, 2016.
Recruited patients were instructed to claim they had certain symptoms to trigger medically unnecessary tests, which Medicare then performed.
Friday's decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit says the U.S. Labor secretary has the authority to penalize employers on a per-instance basis in willful or egregious cases.
Audit results are part of the data to be shared by the International Air Transport Association, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Commission of the European Union.
“Consumers need proper information to ensure they are using pesticides safely and correctly. Improper labeling can result in harm to public health and the environment," said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz.
After meeting today with MSHA chief Joe Main, Secretary Hilda Solis, and Kevin Stricklin, administrator for coal mine safety and health, the president pledged "immediate" inspections of mines with "troubling safety records" and a review of how MSHA is operating.
An inspection conducted under OSHA's Chemical Industry National Emphasis Program resulted in $153,000 in proposed penalties.
"The final rule upgrades the approval requirements for the existing dust sampler that has been in use since passage of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.