ROI of employee safety programs depends on a balanced attack
As I travel and speak on injury-reduction and cost-containment measures in corporate and industrial settings, the conversation often turns to return on investment (ROI).
Disparities found in workers’ compensation hospital outpatient costs
The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) released a new study yesterday, the Hospital Outpatient Cost Index for Workers’ Compensation, 2nd Edition, to provide policymakers and system stakeholders with a tool to:
Appellate court finds NLRB appointments unconstitutional
President Obama’s Jan. 4 recess appointments of three people to the National Labor Relations Board are constitutionally invalid because the U.S. Senate technically was not in recess, three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today. The NLRB is an independent federal agency that protects employees’ rights to form labor […]
OSHA to inspect federal agencies with high injury rates
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued its annual Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program directive for fiscal year 2013. OSHA will inspect all establishments reporting 100 or more cases where a worker is away from work due to injury during fiscal year 2012; 50 percent of those establishments reporting 50 to 99 cases; […]
Rule targets mine safety repeat offenders
A final rule designed to strengthen safety in the nation’s most dangerous mines is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register tomorrow. The rule revises the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s pattern of violations (POV) regulation in the 30 Code of Federal Regulations Part 104. The rule:
Workplace health promotion has potential to reduce annual medical costs 18%, study shows
Workplace health promotion programs have the potential to reduce average worker health costs by 18 percent, and even more for older workers, according to a study published in the January edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Jonathan Dugas, Ph.D., and colleagues with The Vitality Group, Chicago, combined data from two major studies […]
Studies link sports arena noise, whistles to hearing loss
Two papers published in the January edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene address noise hazards in sports venues:
OSHA reports violations at Hoover Dam plant
The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) found 50 alleged serious and eight repeat safety and health violations during a comprehensive investigation at the Hoover Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, the agency announced in a press release. The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, which maintains and […]
Flu spreading across the U.S.
Influenza activity is high across most of the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Infection’s latest FluView report. The CDC continues to recommend influenza vaccination for people who have not yet been vaccinated this season and antiviral treatment as early as possible for people who get sick and are at high […]
OSHA targeted inspections in effect for 2013
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) annually updated Site-Specific Targeting Program aimed at workplaces that experience the nation’s highest injury and illness rates went into effect on Jan. 4. The program is based on a survey of about 80,000 organizations in selected high-hazard industries. New this year: the agency will be conducting a study […]