The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has placed a Chicago manufacturer in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program due to serious violation that put workers’ lives in jeopardy. OSHA cited specialty metal forgings company A. Finkl & Sons with 26 safety violations, including two willful violations…
An article on CNNMoney.com is reporting a new concern among U.S. factories: as they create new jobs, owners can’t find skilled workers to fill them. In the article, Rob Akers, vice president at the National Tooling and Machining Association, explained that there is a critical shortage of machinists, a common…
An appeals court ruled that a Morris County, NJ woman will receive workers’ comp benefits because she was hit by a car when she was walking in the employer-controlled parking lot to the county administration building where she worked. The woman was out of work for 11 months after being…
Genova Products, manufacturers of plastics, vine pipe, and rain gutters, will close its location in the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazel Township by the end of the year. That will leave 60 Genova workers without jobs. According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, the plant opened in 1975 and employed…
The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) of Cambridge, MA has issued a new study that says doctors are filling more prescriptions for workers’ comp patients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And in some cases they are getting paid more per pill than a pharmacy. In an article on Philly.com, the…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Trio Foundry Inc. of Sandwich, IL, an aluminum castings producer, with 20 health and safety violations, including one willful and one repeat violation. OSHA defines a willful safety violation as one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary…
In an effort to recover from the city’s budget deficit, the mayor of Scranton has slashed the pay of approximately 400 employees to federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour. According to an article by the Associated Press, three unions that represent firefighters and police, expect to file several…
The Labor Department has reported that only 80,000 jobs were added in June and the unemployment rate remains at 8.2%. According to an article on CNN.com, economists had hoped to see 95,000 jobs added. Although jobs started out strong in the first few months of this year, a slowdown in…
According to a report by NCCI Holdings, Inc., a workers’ comp ratings and research organization, the duration of benefits paid to obese workers who injury themselves is five times greater than those paid to claimants who are not obese, but who filed comparable claims. An article on Workforce.com states that…
A drum technician for the band Radiohead was killed when an overhanging metalwork fell onto the stage just before the concert in Toronto park. According to an article on CNN.com, a number of crew members were on the stage preparing for the concert at the time of collapse. The scaffold-like…