Triangle, VA — The United Mine Workers Association is suing the Mine Safety and Health Administration and its administrator, David Zatezalo, over the legality of the agency’s removal of a Sophia, WV, mine from Pattern of Violations status.

Triangle, VA — United Mine Workers of America President Cecil E. Roberts recently called proposed legislation that would reduce the scope of mine safety inspections in West Virginia and amend the state’s underground ventilation laws “one of the most outrageous attempts to slash critical protections for miners’ safety and health on the job that I have ever seen.”

Tumwater, WA — In response to a labor union petition, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is working on new standards for reinforcing steel and post-tensioning in construction.

Washington — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has vacated a 2018 amendment to a 2017 Mine Safety and Health Administration rule that allowed a competent person to inspect the workplace as miners began work rather than prior to a shift – a decision United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts calls “a victory for miners everywhere.”

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 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on June 11 rejected an AFL-CIO lawsuit calling on the Department of Labor and OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases amid the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Silver Spring, MD — More than 3 out of 4 nurses say their employer isn’t providing a safe workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, results of a recent National Nurses United survey indicate – a finding the labor union claims underlines the impact of businesses “reopening too soon.”

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

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.

Silver Spring, MD — Global Nurses United is demanding stronger COVID-19 guidance from the World Health Organization, including a call for more personal protective equipment for health care workers and acknowledgement from WHO on how the virus is spread.

Silver Spring, MD — Pushing back on calls to roll back certain workplace safety rules, National Nurses United contends hospital industry cost-cutting has put health care worker safety at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the “current staffing and capacity crises.”

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.

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.

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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.

Newly introduced legislation would mandate site-controlling employers to record all worker injuries and illnesses, regardless of who employs the worker.

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.

Washington — The National Labor Relations Board is requesting public comment as it seeks to return to its previous definition of a “joint employer.”

Washington — Federal lawmakers are divided down party lines over a proposed rule from the National Labor Relations Board that would restore the board’s previous definition of “joint employer.”

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