The legislation is intended for millions of Americans who deal with mental illness and face unfair discrimination in higher deductibles and co-payments, as well as limits on doctor visits and hospital stays.
The agency plans to recruit and hire more than 17,000 new air traffic controllers over the next 10 years. Over the last three years, it has hired 5,000 new controllers and plans to hire more than 2,000 in fiscal year 2009.
In separate ceremonies, the facilities were presented with a VPP star flag in recognition of their excellent workplace safety and health records, maintaining an injury and illness rate below their industries' average for three years.
Issued under the authority of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), the final rule further implements the LMRDA goal of securing the right of labor union members to have meaningful information about union finances and expenditures.
"We have worked hard to provide high-quality, affordable health care to our associates and I think this additional focus on wellness steps us up to a new level," said Walmart U.S. President & CEO Eduardo Castro-Wright.
OSHA recently awarded $6.7 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 36 recipients encompassing labor unions, community colleges, and other nonprofit organizations for safety and health training and educational programs.
20,000 Europeans ages 15-24 per year die from fatal injuries, twice as many as from all other causes combined, according to EuroSafe, the European Association for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion.
When it comes to reducing ergonomic injuries -- soft-tissue injuries and others that are extremely prevalent and costly for many companies -- developing the right culture is especially important. Ergonomic problems are typically cumulative in nature. One-shot interventions or would-be quick fixes usually fall flat when applied to Ergo injuries that reflect daily choices and actions, wearing down and debilitating workers over time.
Stakeholders may participate from a total of five sites when MSHA takes comments on the proposed rule, which aims to curb illegal drug and alcohol use by miners and supervisors.
"Physical inactivity is an epidemic in our country--we just don't get enough exercise," said AHA President Dr. Timothy Gardner. "Physical activity is one of the best preventive health measures there is, and people who find ways to incorporate more walking into their lives gain health benefits."
"Overall, the high performers are reaping a health dividend that can be a source of true competitive advantage and a model for the health care reform debate," said Dave Guilmette, managing director of the Towers Perrin Health and Welfare practice.
She began working in 1923 at age 15 while she was still in high school, taking a job with her hometown newspaper, the Curtis Enterprise (Curtis, Neb.). where she taught herself to operate a linotype.
"Increases in problems paying medical bills are affecting not only those who have always struggled with medical costs--low-income and uninsured people--but also an increasing number of insured middle-income families," said study author Peter J. Cunningham, Ph.D.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Acting Chairman Nancy A. Nord recently announced that Quin Dodd will be leaving his position as CPSC Chief of Staff, effective Oct. 1. She also announced that Joseph Martyak, her Counsel, will assume the position of Chief of Staff at that time.
"It should be a no-brainer in the 21st century workplace that women deserve pay and promotional opportunities based on merit, not gender," said EEOC's New York district director Spencer H. Lewis Jr. "Employers who fail to grasp and abide by the letter of the law do so at great risk."
The DOL lawsuit claims about 2,000 ready mix drivers in eight states did not receive all of the pay they should have from CEMEX Inc.
President Bush has declared 29 counties in Texas and 14 parishes in Louisiana as disaster areas due to damage caused by the hurricane; they now have until Jan. 5, 2009, to file.
According to OSHA, it all matters whether the employee's normal work schedule includes one or more work-from-home days.
Falls resulted in 10 deaths in 2007 and accounted for the largest percentage of workers--about 26 percent--who lost their lives on the job. This includes falls from roofs, ladders, and scaffolding.