CBIA Home

Return to HR & Safety Home page

CBIA members: Click here to sign up for our free HR (comes twice a month) and/or our Safety & Heath (monthly) electronic newsletters. Note: If you are already receiving these publications, you do not need to sign up again.

Safety & Health Roundtable Members-Only Page

Safety Publications and Products

BLR's OSHA Compliance Advisor

BLR's OSHA Compliance Advisor on CD-Rom

BLR's Injury & Illness Tracking Assistant

Environmental Policies Council (EPC)

Workers' Comp Insurance

Pre-Employment Screening Services

Safety & Health FAQs

Safety & Health

* Links followed by an asterisk are password protected and accessible to CBIA Members. For information on joining CBIA, click here.

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued model notices to help employers comply with the COBRA changes included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act /Stimulus Package. The Act provides a temporary COBRA premium subsidy for employees who lose group health coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment between Sept.1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009. Eligible individuals must be notified of the availability of the subsidy and additional special election opportunities.  For more information: http://www.cbia.com/ieb/er/COBRA/2009StimulusCOBRA.htm.

Series for Connecticut safety pros
CBIA’s 2008-2009 Safety and Health Roundtable is a series of fast-paced meetings designed to give you up-to-the minute information on safety management. And it's a great opportunity to network with other safety and health pros. More details

Don’t wait until an OSHA compliance officer is in your lobby to address health and safety issues in your workplace. Employee safety is a priority for all employers. Find out what laws apply to you.

National Safety Month

The National Safety Council (NSC) has designated June as “National Safety Month.”

The event is NSC’s annual campaign to educate people about some of the nation’s leading causes of preventable deaths and injuries. It is also a good time for businesses to promote safety among their employees and employee families, says NSC.

This year’s event focuses on four themes—teen driving, falls prevention, overexertion, and distracted driving—each with its own week. For more information: http://www.nsc.org/NSM

MSHA: Stay out, stay alive

With summer just around the corner, the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is warning outdoor enthusiasts, and especially children, about the dangers of playing on mine property.

Since 1999, nearly 300 people have lost their lives in recreational accidents at mine properties, says MSHA. Almost half of all victims were 15 to 25 years old. The most common cause of death was drowning in a quarry, accounting for two out of three fatalities.

No matter how attractive they may appear, active and abandoned mines are not playgrounds, says MSHA. The agency urges individuals to stay away if they are not trained or authorized to enter the property.

Old surface mines, which are popular spots for ATV enthusiasts, contain hills of loose materials or refuse heaps that can easily collapse and cause deadly rollovers. Underground mines can have hidden shafts, flooded or airless sections, or deadly gases; tunnels can cave in; and unused or misfired explosives can be set off by the slightest disturbance or touch.

Water filled quarries—the mines that claim the most lives every year—have slippery slopes and unstable rock ledges. Water may conceal old machinery and sharp objects left behind after a mining operation closes. And even expert swimmers may encounter trouble in the dangerously cold and deceptively deep waters, warns MSHA.

For more information: http://www.msha.gov/SOSA/SOSAhome.asp

Crack down on training fraud

In an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, OSHA is taking steps to strengthen the integrity of its 36 year old Outreach Training Program.

The voluntary program has grown to a national network of more than 16,000 independent trainers, allowing OSHA to significantly extend its training capabilities. However, according to the agency and a number of media reports, some trainers have fraudulently failed to provide the appropriate training in accordance with the program.

Independent trainers must complete a one-week OSHA trainer course through an OSHA Training Institute Education Center. They are then eligible to teach 10-hour programs that provide basic safety information to workers and employers and 30-hour programs in construction, maritime, and general industry safety and health hazards; they are also authorized to issue OSHA 10-hour course completion cards.

The program’s success has prompted some states and cities to legislate a requirement that workers complete training to earn an OSHA 10-hour card as a condition of employment. In part because this 10-hour training has become a requirement for gaining employment, the program has experienced some fraudulent activity, says the agency.

OSHA has increased unannounced monitoring to verify that trainers are in compliance with program requirements. The agency will also continue to refer fraudulent activity to the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General, and trainers caught falsifying information will be subject to criminal prosecution. A new hotline is available to take complaints about program fraud and abuse at 847-297-4810, and a “watch list” of trainers who have received disciplinary action will be posted on OSHA’s website.

Daylight savings leads to more injuries?

Two researchers from Michigan State University say that the number of workplace accidents spikes after Daylight Savings Time changes every March.

Using data from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the researchers found a 5.7% increase in workplace injuries and nearly 68% more workdays lost to injuries. They also found that the March switch resulted in 40 minutes less sleep for American workers and maintain that the two—increased injuries and sleep loss—are linked.

People assume the change in Daylight Savings is not going to affect them, say the researchers. And if they do have an accident or make a mistake, they are not likely to attribute it to sleep loss. But one hour is enough to cause problems, especially for those whose work requires attention to detail.

The researchers found no significant increase in workplace accidents or sleep loss when the clocks are set back in November.

The research will be reported in the September issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.

VPP to continue

OSHA says it is not considering an end to its Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), despite rumors to the contrary stemming from comments by Acting OSHA Chief Jordan Barab.

In a press release, the VPP Participants’ Association (VPPPA) indicated it had received confirmation from Barab that the agency is not suspending the program. VPPPA, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting advances in worker safety and health excellence through cooperation among communities, workers, industries, and government. The nearly 2,000 VPPPA members primarily consist of worksites that have been approved, or are seeking approval, into VPP as administered by OSHA, state-plan OSHA, and the Department of Energy.

Recent media coverage of Barab speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections had caused some confusion for VPP sites and the safety and health community. Barab stated that: “We need to better utilize the resources that we already have. In order to direct more of OSHA’s existing resources into enforcement and to provide time to address concerns in an upcoming GAO Report on the efficacy of OSHA’s VPP, I have informed the field staff that we will suspend the previous administration’s practice of establishing goals for new VPP sites and Alliances.”

In response to the confusion, Barab reportedly called VPPPA’s Executive Director and assured him that OSHA is not ending VPP. Indicated changes represent only a shift in focus toward enforcement but do not equate to an elimination of the agency’s VPP. In the course of the conversation, Barab accepted an invitation to attend the association’s 25th Annual National VPPPA Conference in San Antonio in August.

ADA-compliant flu planning

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a short technical assistance document that discusses workplace preparedness strategies for the H1N1 flu as they relate to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The document provides answers to these five basic questions:

• In light of the ADA’s requirements, how may employers ask employees about factors, including chronic medical conditions, that may cause them to miss work in the event of a pandemic?
• May an employer require entering employees to have a medical test, post offer, to determine their exposure to the influenza virus?
• During a pandemic, may an employer require its employees to adopt infection control practices?
• May an employer require its employees to wear personal protective equipment (e.g., face masks, gloves, or gowns) designed to reduce the transmission of a pandemic virus?
• May an employer encourage or require employees to telework (work from an alternative location such as home) as an infection control strategy?

The pandemic alert for the H1N1 flu virus is currently at Phase 5, one phase below that of pandemic. If a pandemic occurs, the World Health Organization has said that businesses and other employers will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as limiting the impact on the economy and society.

CBIA Telecommute CT Archives

CBIA Programs, Seminars and Conferences

© 2003 Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA). All rights reserved.

The articles, forms and other materials available through this Web site are for informational purposes only. They are not intended as legal advice or as a solution to an individual problem. You are encouraged to consult with appropriate legal counsel prior to relying on the materials in whole or in part.