Washington — United Steelworkers is suing the Environmental Protection Agency and its administrator, Andrew Wheeler, over the agency’s recent changes to the Obama-era Chemical Disaster Rule.

Washington — Representatives from two labor unions are bringing attention to resources intended to protect workers in “frontline industries” from exposure to the new coronavirus and are calling on the federal government to provide coordinated guidance.

Washington — The AFL-CIO has outlined steps it says all levels of government should take to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19 before reopening the economy.

Washington — A new e-tool from the AFL-CIO is aimed at helping workers identify COVID-19 exposure risks on the job.

Washington — The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on workplace safety is among the issues explored in the AFL-CIO’s annual report on the state of safety and health protections for U.S. workers.

San Francisco — The Washington State Nurses Association is among four labor unions suing Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and OSHA in an effort to compel the agency to move forward with rulemaking on an infectious diseases standard that would require employers in the health care industry to protect workers from exposure to harmful infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Ebola and influenza.

Washington — The full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the nation’s workforce will likely remain unclear because of the lack of a comprehensive national system to gather such information, according to the AFL-CIO’s annual report on the state of safety and health protections for U.S. workers.

Silver Spring, MD — The nation’s largest union and professional association of direct care registered nurses is urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update agency guidance and reinstate the “recommendation to everyone to wear masks in public or in physical proximity to others outside their own household.”

Washington — Longtime AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka died from a reported heart attack Aug. 5. He was 72.

La Grange, IL — Unionized construction worksites may be nearly a fifth less likely to incur OSHA health and safety violations than their nonunionized counterparts, with positive effects on safety even more prevalent in the Midwest, a recent report shows.

Washington — The AFL-CIO and National Nurses United are part of a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor and OSHA, petitioning a federal court to direct the agency to issue a permanent standard on COVID-19 focused on health care workers.

Washington — “The nation must renew its commitment to protecting workers from job injury, disease and death, and make this a high priority,” the AFL-CIO says in its annual report on the state of safety and health protections for U.S. workers.

Pittsburgh — A new guide on stop-work authority from the United Steelworkers is aimed at helping workers develop and bargain for programs that allow them to halt unsafe or unhealthy operations and processes until hazards are abated.

Washington — Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) has reintroduced legislation that would reduce the standard 40-hour workweek to 32 hours.

Washington — OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration have scheduled a national Workers Memorial Day ceremony for April 27 at the Department of Labor headquarters.

Washington — Federal regulation of autonomous trucks must “prioritize both workers and safety,” the International Brotherhood of Teamsters says.

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I own a cannabis business. What chemical hazards are my employees exposed to, and how can I assess and prevent health and safety risks?

Washington – OSHA has launched an initiative to help ensure temporary workers are better protected.

Boston – A coalition of workplace safety groups has released a set of recommendations for OSHA to help improve safety for temporary workers.

Washington – The safety of temporary workers will be the topic of discussion during a meeting, scheduled for May 9, of a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health workgroup.

Washington – OSHA should consider developing separate guidance for the construction industry on best practices pertaining to temporary workers, stakeholders suggested to an advisory committee workgroup that met May 7.

Washington – OSHA recently sent a memo about its Temporary Worker Initiative to regional administrators.

Washington – Staffing firms and host employers looking to better protect temporary workers from job hazards can now review recommended practices in a guidance document issued Aug. 25 by NIOSH and OSHA.

Temporary and contractor workers should be included in all efforts employers take to ensure the safety of workers, according to National Safety Council recommendations released Dec. 18.

Washington – The National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health is scheduled to meet June 18 in Washington to discuss key OSHA initiatives, including best-practice language for protecting temporary workers.

Oakland, CA – Two new fact sheets from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal/OSHA, outline worker safety rights and employer requirements for protecting temporary workers.

Washington – An OSHA workgroup tasked with examining temporary worker safety issues is scheduled to meet monthly through November, the agency announced Aug. 18.

Washington – Both host employers and staffing firms are responsible for protecting temporary workers, OSHA administrator David Michaels stresses in a recently released video.

Washington – As part of its Temporary Worker Initiative, OSHA has released guidance documents intended to clarify training requirements and hazard communication responsibilities for employers of temporary workers.

Philadelphia – Staffing agencies that hire temporary workers need to be regulated more vigorously, and employers that use those agencies should carry a heavier load of responsibility for workers’ safety, a trio of Temple University law students concluded in a recent report examining how staffing agencies and host employers may “pass the buck” to get around proper safety training and other requirements.

Olympia, WA – Temporary workers file lost-workday claims about twice as often as permanent workers, according to a recent study from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

Safety remains a challenge for this often-vulnerable segment of the workforce, which may account for at least 15 percent of the nation’s on-the-job deaths.

Olympia, WA — A new Washington state law will require construction and manufacturing employers who use temporary workers to identify and document workplace hazards, communicate those hazards to staffing agencies, and make sure workers are informed and properly trained.

Washington — NIOSH and the American Staffing Association have announced a multiyear partnership agreement to advance protections for temporary workers.

Washington — NIOSH, together with several partners, has developed a set of best practices to help employers protect temporary workers from injury and illness.

Trenton, NJ — A new law in New Jersey will provide temporary workers with additional rights and protections against unsafe working conditions.

Tyler, TX — A federal judge in Texas has vacated the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rule, but NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran says the decision is “not the last word.”

Washington — The House Education and the Workforce Committee has advanced a resolution aimed at repealing the Department of Labor’s rule on determining if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Washington — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Labor’s rule on determining if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Washington — President Joe Biden has vetoed a Congressional Review Act resolution intended to repeal the National Labor Relations Board’s “joint employer” rule, which remains in legal limbo.

Washington — The National Labor Relations Board has withdrawn its appeal of a federal court decision that blocked the board’s joint employer rule.

The Shark safety knife is designed so that fingers cannot reach the blade. The patented, specially designed mouth of the Fish series guides material onto and along a surgical steel blade, which slices through heavy strapping, rope and fabric.

The Fish series F3000 is a heavy-duty disposable knife with safe-cutting applications.

The K420-2SG Flash Box Opener is the tool of choice for high-volume receiving departments. Pushing the opener along a carton’s four edges cuts off the top safely and easily.

The Pocket Blade Dispenser helps reduce worker injuries by safely dispensing one blade at a time.

72 Anodized Aluminum Series Padlocks feature lightweight, anodized aluminum bodies perfect for laser engraving.

REAKTA is a heavy-duty retractable knife with a blade that locks in the “out” position when a controlled cut is made.

The Secumax 350 is a concealed-blade safety cutter with a double-sided replaceable head.

This line of non-sparking, non-magnetic hand tools is manufactured from special aluminum-bronze or copper-beryllium alloys that meet ATEX regulations for safe use in areas where hazardous, flammable or combustible vapors, liquids, dusts, or residues may be present.