Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyers Blog

Job-related lung disease is just one of many occupational hazards. Some fields can be more risky that others. But according to an article on Health.com, most types of occupational lung disease are preventable. Philip Harber, MD, professor and chief of the UCLA Occupational and Environmental Medicine Division says, “Simple control measure can markedly reduce expose and the risk.” Below are a few fields that can be detrimental to lung health.

Construction: Demolition or construction dust can expose workers to lunch casnter, mesothelioma, and asbestos. Wearing protective gear, including a respirator, can help.

Manufacturing: Factory workers are often exposed to dust, chemicals, and gases, which could put them at risk for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). When mixing ingredients, it is recommended that workers put a lid on the container and wear a filtering mask.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits are available for people out of work due to the effects of Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee.

Although the deadline to apply for assistance due to Hurricane Irene was Oct. 14, there is still time to file for help if you are out of work because of damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene and you do not qualify for any other form of unemployment compensation.

If you became unemployed due to the effects of the tropical storm in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, or Philadelphia counties, you must apply no later than Oct. 27, 2011.

It’s hard to believe that this Sunday is the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country. But so many of us remember all too clearly that tragic day when nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the destruction of the Twin Towers, the attack on the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Western Pennsylvania. And we remember the heroic efforts of the firefighters, police officers, and emergency responders who sacrificed their own lives to save others. The heart-wrenching stories of loss and survival are ones that we still remember and must never forget.

So this Sunday, we join with all those across our country and around the world as we watch the National September 11 Memorial rise from the ashes of the World Trade Center site. And we ask you to join with the staff of O’Connor Law as we remember those who perished on 9/11/2001, as well as their families.

United we stand, together in memory. We must never forget!

In August, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in July, up from 7.6 percent in June. PA’s unemployment rate was below the U.S. rate of 9.1 percent in July and has been below the U.S. rate for 39 consecutive months, as well as at or below the U.S. rate for 57 consecutive months.

In a press release by the PA Dept. of L&I, they reported that July’s unemployment rate was down 0.8 percentage points from July 2010.

What caught our attention was the report that Mining & Logging jobs were up 300 to a record high of 31,600.

This Labor Day, the law offices of O’Connor Law salute the hard-working men and women of our country. We believe so much in the efforts and sacrifices of the working class that we’ve built our reputation on protecting the rights of all those who are injured on the job. So Labor Day has a significant meaning to us, especially when we look back to its origins.

The website for the United States Department of Labor explains that the federal holiday known as Labor Day was created by the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It is a national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

It’s believed that a machinist by the name of Matthew Maguire proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Maguire was also the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, NJ.

According to a report released by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), there’s been a decline in workers’ compensation coverage and costs to employers that seems to be related to the nation’s unemployment rate.

An article on EHSToday.com published some of the results of the report titled, “Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage and Costs, 2009”. Some interesting statistics include:

• The number of employees covered by workers’ comp decreased 4.4 percent in 2009
• Employer costs for workers’ comp benefits dropped by 7.6 percent, the largest decline in the last 30 years
• An estimated 124.9 million workers were covered by workers’ comp in 2009
• Nationwide, workers’ comp programs paid $58.3 billion in benefits in 2009, which was a .4 percent increase from the previous year
• Payments for medical care decreased by 1.1 percent for the first time in a decade. Case benefits increased by 1.9 percent
• 4,551 occupational injuries were fatal in 2009, which was a 12.7 percent decrease from the previous year

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On Thursday, hundreds of guestworkers from around the world walked off the job at the Hershey Company-affiliated warehouse in North Londonderry Township, in protest of their working conditions.

According to The Lebanon Daily News, the students paid $3000-$6000 each to come to the United States this summer for the opportunity to immerse themselves in American culture by working in a job for three months. Instead, they found themselves packaging boxes of chocolate in what has been described as “deeply exploitative conditions.”

Other reports on this situation say that the students have been charged exorbitant rates for housing and transportation, and that after work-related deductions, many barely make more than $100 a week. They claim their exploitation is a result of The Hershey Company’s efforts to arrange for cheap labor instead of providing good paying jobs to local workers.

Our local paper, the Republican Herald, has reported that a local mining company has been fined more than $900,000 for an accident in 2006 that killed a miner.

The Department of Labor said the penalties were a result of “flagrant” safety violations. Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health is quoted in the article as saying, “Mine operators must be held accountable for their failure to keep miners safe.”

This is the first time the department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) cited a mining company for flagrant violations under the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.

MSHA’s investigation discovered that when an unconfined shot was detonated at the face of the mine, methane gas exploded in an inadequately ventilated area. The mine has been sealed and permanently closed since the accident.

In 2007, MSHA fined the mining company $874,500 for failure to comply with approved ventilation and roof control plans, poor blasting practices, assigning unqualified personnel to blasting work, and conducting improper preshift examinations.

MSHA said six of the 10 violations that contributed to the accident were flagrant. The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act defines flagrant as “a reckless or repeated failure to make reasonable efforts to eliminate a known violation of a mandatory safety and health standard that substantially and proximately caused, or reasonable could have been expected to cause, death or serious bodily injury.”

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