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- OSHA proposed heat rule ready for publication
July 2, 2024 Washington — OSHA has released a draft of its proposed rule on heat illness prevention. The proposal will likely be published in the Federal Register in the coming days and a comment period will begin. If finalized, the standard would require the formulation of a heat illness prevention plan. That plan would need to be in writing if an employer has 10 or more employees. Employer requirements under the standard, or “initial heat trigger,” would go into effect when the heat index in the work area reaches 80° F or the wet bulb globe temperature is “equal to the NIOSH Recommended Alert Limit.” Those requirements include: · Monitoring employees for heat stress · Identifying heat hazards · Providing water (1 quart per employee per hour) and rest break areas · Indoor work area controls · Acclimatization · Hazard alerts · Maintenance of personal protective equipment for heat Additional requirements, known as the “high heat trigger,” would go into effect when the heat index reaches 90° F or the WGBT is equal to NIOSH’s Recommended Exposure Limit. Those requirements include a minimum 15-minute paid rest break for employees every two hours and observing employees for signs and symptoms of heat illness using: A buddy system in which co-workers monitor one other. Observation by a supervisor or heat safety coordinator – “with no more than 20 employees observed per supervisor or heat safety coordinator.” Two-way communication for lone workers. Employers would also have to place warning signs by indoor work areas where the “ambient temperatures” regularly exceed 120° F. “Workers all over the country are passing out, suffering heatstroke and dying from heat exposure from just doing their jobs, and something must be done to protect them,” OSHA administrator Doug Parker said in a July 2 press release. “Today’s proposal is an important next step in the process to receive public input to craft a ‘win-win’ final rule that protects workers while being practical and workable for employers.” The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs reviewed the proposed rule from June 11 to July 1. In May, OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health unanimously approved the proposed rule. The proposal was also examined by a Small Business Advocacy Review panel.
- Prevent harassment in construction: New guide from EEOC
June 28, 2024 Washington — Preventing harassment in the construction industry is the focus of a new guidance document from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “While workplace harassment is an issue in all sectors and industries, it is prevalent on many construction jobsites, and some of the most egregious incidents of harassment investigated by the EEOC have arisen in the construction industry,” the agency says in the document. It adds that harassment is a workplace safety issue because of the high-risk nature of construction sites. The document identifies risk factors related to the nature of the industry that may increase the likelihood of harassment, including workforces that are predominantly male, workplaces that are decentralized, pressure to conform to traditional stereotypes and the potential presence of multiple employers on a jobsite. Suggested best practices: · Project owners and general contractors should prioritize and emphasize collaboration to prevent and correct harassment. · Anti-harassment measures should be included in contract bids. · General contractors should coordinate harassment prevention across worksites and help resolve difficult issues. · Employers should evaluate policies and seek feedback from employees to ensure they’re clear and comprehensive. · Post anti-harassment policies in consistent and easy-to-find places and communicate them regularly. · Have an accessible and effective “no wrong door” complaint system. · Plan regular, interactive and comprehensive anti-harassment training for workers, as well as additional training for those with legal responsibilities. The guide is a key piece of EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan for FY 2024-2028, which includes a goal to “address systemic harassment” in the industry.
- Most workers willing to try safety tech, cost barriers remain: report
June 28, 2024 Eighty-three percent of employees agreed they were open to trying and using new safety technologies in the workplace yet “purchase cost remains a key barrier in adopting safety technologies,” according to a report released Thursday by the National Safety Council. The NSC has been analyzing trends in workplace hazards and safety technology implementation since 2020. For the latest research, the researchers surveyed 1,000 employees and 500 employees to gauge interest in technologies and address overall workplace safety concerns. The most notable increases in technology usage were for risk management software, proximity sensors and drones, while use of other technologies has remained flat. The report also highlighted gaps in interest in using technologies and the application thereof, with the widest gaps seen in worker impairment detection, virtual reality, and wearables to track worker health. Of safety concerns, fatigue topped the list of workplace dangers, followed by heavy equipment operation, heat stress, and working at heights, according to the study. Of the workplace risks that have caused accidents and injuries, fatigue was named among 44% of workers surveyed, followed by lack of proper training at 42% and lack of workplace awareness at 41%.
- Topical drugs, NSAIDs continue to climb in comp: report
June 20, 2024 While overall prescription drug costs per claim in workers compensation continued to dip in 2023, topical medications and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are top cost-drivers, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. In examining costs in 28 states, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institute found that as opioid alternatives, topical medications costs represented 22% and NSAIDs represented 18% of the drug spend for injured workers in the median states in the first quarter of 2023. The states make up about 75% of the comp drug spend in the country, WCRI has said. Nearly half of the states studied saw increases in topical medications of 30% or more of the drug spend. Five states — Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Vermont — saw more than 45% of the drug spend allocated to such medications. The share of prescription drugs for migraine medications accounted for 7% to 15% of the spend across the 28 states; anticonvulsants and musculoskeletal agents accounted for 9%. Opioids continued to drop to just under 5%, a downward trend that researchers have said has led to an increase in alternatives for pain management.
- Guilt is a good thing for workers who are rude, researchers say
June 18, 2024 Gainesville, FL — A sense of guilt can help employees be better co-workers after they’ve been rude at work, results of a recent study suggest. Researchers from the University of Florida and Texas A&M University conducted three studies involving 107 participants. They tracked the workers’ daily workplace habits and encouraged them to recall times they acted rudely to a co-worker. The participants who reported shouting at or excluding colleagues at work felt guilty and were more likely to vent at home in the evening. The next day, however, “they put their head down, worked harder and were less likely to be rude again, seemingly in an effort to repair their relationships and reputation,” a UF press release states. Further, the researchers saw no significant difference in the feelings of guilt based on who the recipient of the rude behavior was, whether they were a superior, peer or subordinate. “When you’re being uncivil, it comes back to hurt you as well,” study co-author Daniel Kim, a doctoral student at UF, said in the release. “But we can take solace in this idea that people have opportunities to correct their behavior by working harder, apologizing and being more polite.”
- Lifting, falling represent nearly half of disabling workplace injuries: Report
June 14, 2024 Injuries caused by lifting heavy loads were once again named the costliest in workers compensation, according to data released Tuesday by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. The insurer’s Workplace Safety Index estimates the top 10 causes of the most serious workplace injuries — those causing an employee to miss more than five days of work — and ranks them by their direct costs of medical and lost-wage payments. The 2024 figures mirror those of the previous two years and are based on injuries occurring since 2021. The insurer found that U.S. industries spent $58.07 billion on the direct costs of worker injuries, and 82.5% of that total was for the top 10 causes of disabling injuries and illnesses. Ranking the types of injuries, Liberty Mutual found that “overexertion involving outside sources,” risked by lifting heavy loads, cost employers $12.49 billion in 2021. Falls, which typically rank as the top injury, took second and third place, with falls on same level costing employers $9.99 billion and falls to a lower level $5.68 billion. Combined, the three categories represented nearly half of all injuries. The remaining top types of injuries included “other exertions or bodily reactions” at $3.68 billion, car accidents at $2.76 billion, slip or trips without falling at $2.34 billion, caught in or compressed by equipment or objects at $2.05 billion, struck against object or equipment at $1.84 billion, and repetitive motions involving microtasks at $1.54 billion.
- Workers’ comp report shows a significant drop in opioid use
June 11, 2024 San Diego — Opioid use related to workers’ compensation claims decreased nearly 10% in 2023, marking one of the largest drops the workers’ comp industry has seen in years, according to a new report. For its annual Pharmacy Solutions Drug Trends report, property and casualty industry service provider Enlyte examined trends in workers’ comp that its clients experienced over the past year. The report offers an overview of both in- and out-of-network prescriptions (retail and mail order). All opioid categories showed utilization decreases. That includes the use of sustained-release opioids, which dropped more than 10%. Opioid alternatives, commonly prescribed to manage acute and chronic pain, also saw decreases in utilization per claim. Use of anticonvulsants fell 7.4%, as did the use of antidepressants (6.1%) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs (3%). Overall, retail and mail order prescription utilization per claim dropped more than 5%. The report also shows a drop in utilization per claim among all but one of the top 10 therapeutic classes (based on cost): migraine medications, which jumped 17%. Nearly 280,000 people in the United States died from overdoses involving prescription opioids between 1999 and 2021, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
- What are the ‘building blocks’ of a heat stress prevention program?
June 11, 2024 Washington — A new resource from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is intended to help employers identify and implement steps to protect workers from heat stress. The Building Blocks for a Heat Stress Prevention Training Program is organized into five sections (with checklists) and an appendix. The sections cover: How to determine heat stress · What training, approaches and resources are needed for a heat stress management program · How heat is controlled in the workplace · What makes heat stress worse? · Approaches to ensure workers’ rights The appendix features two tables from the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists on threshold limit values and action limit values for heat stress. “This is a useful resource for identifying and implementing steps needed to reduce the risk of heat stress for workers in indoor and outdoor environments,” NIEHS says. “Workers involved in disaster response and recovery, construction, transportation, agriculture, and many other jobs are vulnerable to the impacts of heat stress.”
- Black, Hispanic workers less likely to speak out on safety: Report
June 10, 2024 Black and Hispanic workers are more likely to be injured at work and “psychological safety” is among the reasons such groups are unlikely to report unsafe conditions, according to a study released Monday by the National Safety Council. In studying safety practices in the context of diversity, equity and inclusion, and the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries among minority groups, NSC found that so-called voice suppression can “prove particularly harmful to employees of color, as they may already perceive their voices and opinions as less valued than the majority group.” As a result, “Black and Hispanic workers report the most unease about reporting unsafe work conditions when compared to other racial and ethnic groups,” the Itasca, Illinois-based nonprofit advocacy group reported. In addition, other research – such as that conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor — found that fear of income and job loss spurs the discomfort in reporting unsafe practices and, in some cases, injuries, the report said. The report also highlighted Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that such groups are more likely to work in high-risk occupations, with 24% of Hispanics, 21% of non-Hispanic Blacks, 20% of American Indians/Alaska Natives, 22% of foreign-born workers and 26% of workers with no more than a high school education employed in fields with high injury rates. This compares with 13% of white workers and 9% of workers with higher than a high school level of education in high-risk occupations. The report said companies should provide improved and anonymous reporting procedures for all workers and communicate such protocols often. It also suggests that companies should be “mindful of jobs that demand high exertions, awkward or sustained postures, and a fast pace and eliminate them when able.”