Enforcement


Racially Harassed Workers Receive $1.5 Million Settlement

Under the decree, the company will pay $1.3 million to be shared among six African American former employees, and $200,000 will be apportioned among 11 similarly situated individuals identified during the litigation.

MSHA Fines Murray-Controlled Mine $420,300 for Flagrant Violations

Robert E. Murray is the owner of Utah's Crandall Canyon mine, where a disaster last August prompted congressional hearings and caused Democrats to launch the S-MINER bill.

UPS Pays $254,000 to Mechanic Following Whistleblower Investigation

"Employees are entitled to raise legitimate workplace safety and health concerns without fear of termination or retaliation," said Louis Ricca Jr., OSHA's acting regional administrator in New York.

Consumer Product Safety Commission to Increase Staff Nationwide

"I've heard from parents just like you. I've read the e-mails, and as a mother, I share your worries," said CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord.

DC Steps Up Campaign Against Gun Violence

Mayor Adrian Fenty said the Safe Home Initiative starts next Monday. Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a case challenging the city's handgun ban.

Billboard Firm Faces $54,500 in Fines for Repeat Fall Protection Hazards

"The same hazard recurring in multiple locations points to a systemic problem with the company's safety program that must be addressed before employees are hurt or killed," said Brenda Gordon, director of OSHA's Braintree Area Office.

Falls Must Stop, MIOSHA Tell 8,000 Employers

An awareness campaign and a series of workshops follow three fatal falls in the state this year.

OSHA Revises Combustible Dust NEP, Quadrupling Inspections

Under this revised NEP, each Area OSHA Office is expected to inspect at least four facilities each fiscal year. Under the previous directive, each Area Office was expected to conduct at least one inspection.



Hong Kong Updates Workplace Fatality Report Form

Employers must report a fatal accident within seven days and an injury accident within 14 days to the Commissioner of Labour.

Record $250 Million Settlement Over Asbestos is Announced

DOJ and the EPA announced the settlement Tuesday, saying the money would be used to reimburse the government for the costs of the investigation and cleanup of asbestos contamination around its mining operations in Libby, Mont.

EPA Fines Calif. Tech Company $208,000 for 'Nano Coating' Claims

"We're seeing far too many unregistered products that assert unsubstantiated antimicrobial properties," said Katherine Taylor, associate director of the Communities and Ecosystems Division in EPA's Pacific Southwest region.

Laborers' Union Bucks Trends, Backs Confined Space Standard

Numerous safety organizations have filed critical comments about the proposed standard, but the big construction union praised it, for the most part.

Georgia Issues Combustible Dust Safety Regulation

Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine said the rule is intended to prevent any more incidents like the Port Wentworth Imperial Sugar explosion last month.

HSE Finds Problems Everywhere in Construction Site Blitz

About one-third of inspected sites were operating so poorly in February that inspectors stopped work there, the agency's chief said.

Senate Passes Major CPSC Reform Bill

Increased funding and temporary authority to act without a quorum of commissioners are included in the bill, which heads to a conference committee.

FAA Hits Southwest Airlines with Record $10.2 Million Proposed Fine

The airline says it will appeal, assuring customers that the inspections surrounding the penalty were "never a safety of flight issue."

HELP Report Criticizes Mine Operator, MSHA in Crandall Canyon Disaster

The United Mine Workers' president said the report underscores the necessity of enacting the S-MINER Act, but three committee Republicans disagree.

FY 2007: EEOC Recovers $345 Million for Job Bias Victims

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as part of its recently released Fiscal Year 2007 enforcement and litigation statistics, reports that it recovered $345 million in monetary relief for victims and received a total of 82,792 private sector discrimination charge filings last fiscal year--the highest volume of incoming charges since 2002 and the largest annual increase (9 percent) since the early 1990s.

OSHA Sends 14,000 Letters to High Injury, Illness Rate Employers

Foulke says the notification is intended to encourage these employers to focus on eliminating hazards in their workplace.

Britain Readies Employers for Corporate Homicide Law

The new law will take effect April 6, so the Health and Safety Executive wants employers to be prepared.

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