Washington — Immigrant construction workers employed by small companies do not receive the same amount of safety and health training as their counterparts at larger companies, according to a recent study from NIOSH and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Albany, NY — Attorneys general from New York, California and Maryland have filed a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to indefinitely delay a requirement for employers to provide enhanced training intended to protect farmworkers, pesticide handlers and their families from exposure to pesticides.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency on June 14 announced its intent to publish a Federal Register notice establishing the availability of expanded pesticide safety training materials, in accordance with 2015 revisions to the federal Agricultural Worker Protection Standard.

Washington — By publishing the availability of expanded pesticide safety training materials after previously resisting the move, the Environmental Protection Agency will reduce risks of injury and illness among employers, farmworkers, pesticide handlers and their families, the EPA Office of Inspector General asserts in an audit report released Aug. 30.

Washington — Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) has reintroduced legislation that would provide temporary protection from deportation to immigrant workers who are victims of, or witnesses to, unsafe working conditions and other labor rights violations.

San Francisco — A recent study of stone fabricators in California who have been diagnosed with silicosis shows that virtually all of them were immigrant, Latino men.

Washington – Large facilities that store and sell chemicals may no longer be exempt from OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard, the agency announced July 22 in a revised interpretation of its rules.

Washington – OSHA failed to follow federal rulemaking requirements when it used a memorandum to announce a revised definition of retail facilities exempt from the Process Safety Management Standard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled.

Washington – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has denied OSHA’s petitions for a rehearing and rehearing en banc of the court’s ruling that the agency failed to follow federal rulemaking requirements when it used a memorandum to announce a revised definition of retail facilities exempt from the Process Safety Management Standard.

Sacramento, CA – California could become the first state to require professional cosmetics manufacturers to list ingredients – including hazardous chemicals – on their product labels.

East Lansing, MI – Do you find shopping therapeutic after a tense day at work? It may be rooted to your occupation. Service workers who are verbally abused by customers are more likely to indulge in stress-related shopping sprees, according to a recent study from Michigan State University.

Retail workers experienced a combined injury and illness rate higher than the construction industry in 2016. Experts say top-down commitment is needed to prevent a work environment that values inventory over safety.

Washington — NIOSH has published its National Occupational Research Agenda for Wholesale and Retail Trade, as well as its NORA for Traumatic Injury Prevention – both intended to spotlight the research, information and actions most needed to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses.

Washington — A newly launched campaign is intended to raise young workers’ awareness of on-the-job safety.

New York — Retail employees injured on the job miss an average of 24 days of work as a result, according to recent report from AmTrust Financial Services Inc., an insurance provider for small businesses.

Washington — In an effort to protect retail employees from exposure to COVID-19, OSHA has issued a safety alert.

Washington — To help protect retail pharmacy workers from exposure to COVID-19, OSHA has issued a safety alert.

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published guidance to help nail salon employers protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidance intended to help employers in the retail and service industries protect workers from violence that may occur when they ask customers or co-workers to comply with store policies aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Portland, ME — A new online training course launched by the University of Southern Maine’s Cutler Institute focuses on protecting retail workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — A panel of safety experts and industry and government representatives will talk about training, proper forklift operation and maintenance June 8 as part of a free, virtual National Forklift Safety Day program organized by the Industrial Truck Association and DC Velocity.

Washington — Two environmental groups, along with 75 salon workers from across the country, have filed a citizen petition asking the Food and Drug Administration to ban hair straighteners containing formaldehyde.

Tampa, FL — COVID-19 mortality rates among adults with lower levels of education who worked in the labor, service and retail industries were nearly five times higher than other groups in 2020, results of a new study by the University of South Florida show.

Morgantown, WV — Researchers at West Virginia University are working on a project that uses robots to help reduce slips and falls in retail workplaces.

Vancouver, British Columbia — Protecting workers from struck-by injuries related to heavy equipment or vehicles is the goal of new employed-aimed resources from the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia.

Ann Arbor, MI — Most paper receipts at large retailers contain chemicals with possible links to hormone disruption and other adverse health effects, results of a recent study show.

Boca Raton, FL — Retail workers “are being asked to do too much,” and many are “leaving or throwing up their hands,” says a researcher from Florida Atlantic University.

False alarms have long troubled video monitoring stations. With stations in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, La. and Chicago, Ill., Acadian Monitoring Services did better than most in the industry, estimating only two of three alarms received were false.

Washington – The American Industrial Hygiene Association has published a fact sheet that aims to improve safety for workers in the nanotechnology industry.

Washington — As emerging technologies continue to impact the workplace, NIOSH is keeping a watchful eye on whether these new materials and processes will create new on-the-job hazards.

Providing secondary containment for containers, tanks, processes and waste storage areas limits the potential for hazardous chemical releases. It also minimizes the amount of time that will be spent cleaning up spills. In some cases, it can even allow spilled product to be recovered for reuse.

Does the color of an absorbent tell you anything about what it will safely absorb?

At my facility, many areas have small leaks and drips outdoors that represent either an environmental risk or a slip, trip and fall hazard due to the slick surface they create. When dealing with these small hydrocarbon spills in the rain or on waters, are there any products or solutions that absorb the oil while allowing clean water to filter through, or other solutions to keep my employees safe?

How often do I need to inspect my secondary containment devices?

A large number of men at our facility have beards, and I’m concerned that this could create problems with their respiratory protection. Can you provide any advice?

What are the benefits of powered air purifying systems versus negative pressure systems?

If I can get a worker with facial hair to pass a quantitative fit test using a PortaCount, can I then allow that worker to wear the full facepiece without him needing to shave?

Alula announced the launch of its new Alula Pro Training Portal.

There has been a decided push in both technology and interest — from both security integrators and customers — on the cloud-based services that bring recurring monthly revenue.

Interface Systems announced WaBa Grill Franchise has chosen Interface Systems’ Restaurant Network-Technology-in-a-Box solution to transform its network and voice infrastructure in over 190 franchise locations.

Genetec Inc. announced that the company unified security platform has been chosen by Brazil’s Hercílio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis (Floripa), to manage its physical security infrastructure, and provide operational insights.

TouchTone’s partners face a unique challenge: the phasing-out of legacy copper-wire phone lines, informally known as Plain Old Telephone Service or POTS.

With headquarters in Barneveld, offices in Belgium and Spain, and additional sales forces throughout Europe, Intronics supplies standard stock products as well as customer-specific solutions in and beyond the Benelux region.

Washington — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is now accepting charges of discrimination under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Washington — Six states are dropping their lawsuit against OSHA after the agency finalized changes to its revised rule on submitting annual injury and illness data.

Quincy, MA — Eighty-nine firefighters died while on duty or within 24 hours of duty last year, according to the National Fire Protection Association’s annual report.

A decision recently rendered in Illinois involved a requirement that a property be retrofitted with an automatic sprinkler system. The municipality had previously mandated that commercial buildings be retrofitted with the fire/life safety solutions. The ordinance excluded multiple residence dwellings from the retrofit sprinkler requirement.

Guest columnist James D. Berkeley details why a U.S. federal court dismissed an inventor’s attempt to copyright artwork produced by an image generator he designed.

Washington — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, including guidance to provide workers with more clarity on the law – and employers with a better understanding of their responsibilities.

Washington — A series of new resources on worker rights and employer and union responsibilities under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 are now available in 17 languages.