Washington — The United Mine Workers of America and the United Steelworkers are suing the Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in an effort to compel MSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Silver Spring, MD — More than 3 out of 4 nurses say their employer isn’t providing a safe workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, results of a recent National Nurses United survey indicate – a finding the labor union claims underlines the impact of businesses “reopening too soon.”

Silver Spring, MD — Pushing back on calls to roll back certain workplace safety rules, National Nurses United contends hospital industry cost-cutting has put health care worker safety at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the “current staffing and capacity crises.”

New York — Fewer than 10% of the estimated 250,000 employees who contracted COVID-19 while on the job last year in New York state filed for workers’ compensation benefits, and fewer than 1% have received a hearing, according to a recent report from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.

Springfield, IL — New guidance issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health is intended to help staffing agencies and employers protect temporary workers from exposure to COVID-19.

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 — A new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers should take to protect stockroom and loading dock workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Boston — Grocery store workers who interact with customers may be five times more likely to contract COVID-19 than their colleagues who don’t have direct contact with customers, results of a recent study led by researchers from Harvard University show.

Falls Church, VA — Former OSHA administrator David Michaels is among more than a dozen health and safety experts calling on the Biden administration to update and strengthen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to help prevent COVID-19 transmission.

The investment, together with AMP’s renewed senior debt facility, provides AMP with a growth capital structure in excess of $60 million.

Washington — Retaliation against workers who report unsafe or unhealthy conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic is illegal, OSHA is reminding employers.

New forms of business opportunity have emerged this past year as many organizations come to terms with a post-pandemic era that involves more remote work, heightened concerns about cybersecurity, and tighter budgets across the board.

Washington — OSHA has published COVID-19-related guidance intended to help employers in the oil and gas industry reduce exposure among workers, including personnel in the subindustries and those whose tasks “make up the broader oil and gas industrial sector.”

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has “continued to fulfill its mission” during the COVID-19 pandemic by performing safety and environmental inspections for offshore oil and gas operations, the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General concludes in a report issued Sept. 21.

Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a series of fact sheets for airport, airline and transit employers to help protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — In the absence of an emergency temporary standard on infectious disease from OSHA amid the COVID-19 pandemic, North America’s Building Trades Unions and CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training have developed national guidance on infectious disease exposure control practices for construction sites.

Washington — Two new fact sheets from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are intended to help fitness center employers and workers reduce the spread of COVID-19.

After more than a year without in-person events, PSA TEC 2021 was hosted as a hybrid event last week, May 3-6, with around 200 people coming to the Sheraton in downtown Denver, Colo., and more tuning in online.

Washington — Commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist in COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts are temporarily exempt from federal hours-of-service regulations, under an expanded national emergency declaration issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on March 18.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other “regulatory relief” will continue for commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist in COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration once again is extending temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other “regulatory relief” for commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist with COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.

Hamilton, Ontario — A series of free guidance documents from the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety is intended to help workers and employers in essential or high-risk occupations and industries reduce their exposure to COVID-19 and curb the spread of infection.

Gaithersburg, MD — A new online tool from the National Institute of Standards and Technology is intended to help curb airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Silver Spring, MD — The Solid Waste Association of North America is asking the public to take simple steps to help protect sanitation workers from exposure to COVID-19. That includes holding off on cleaning projects that generate large amounts of trash.

Silver Spring, MD — The Solid Waste Association of North America has submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services orders for more than 2.4 million complimentary cloth facial coverings to be distributed to sanitation and recycling workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — “Good-faith efforts” by employers to comply with worker safety regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic should be taken into “strong consideration,” OSHA states in an April 16 memo to area offices and inspectors.

Washington — OSHA received 15% more complaints during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic than it did during the same period in 2019 – but conducted 50% fewer inspections, according to a Department of Labor Office of Inspector General audit report released March 2.

Washington — In an effort to preserve the supply of N95 filtering facepiece respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA has temporarily suspended its requirement for annual respirator fit testing in the health care industry.

Triangle, VA — Citing concerns over the adjacent nature of mining work and the growing prevalence of respiratory illness in the industry, the United Mine Workers of America is calling on the Mine Safety and Health Administration to issue an emergency standard to help safeguard mine workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — A new video is aimed at helping organizations – particularly those in health care – understand the qualitative fit testing process.

West Lafayette, IN — Researchers from Purdue University have developed new designs for N95 facemasks they say will extend the shelf life of the respiratory protection commonly used by health care workers.

Washington — OSHA has issued temporary enforcement guidelines for fit testing of powered air-purifying respirators for workers at high risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Tumwater, WA — A new e-tool from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is intended to help employers and workers choose the appropriate mask, facial covering or respirator based on the COVID-19 exposure risk level of specific job duties.

Boston — Common types of N95 respirators – widely used by health care professionals providing direct care to patients with COVID-19 – can be safely reprocessed up to 25 times to help augment supplies during future pandemics, results of a recent study by Boston researchers suggest.

Minneapolis — Recently released guidance from the state of Minnesota details steps employers in the meatpacking industry should take to reduce worker exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service in April approved 15 poultry processing plants’ requests to increase line speeds 25% – despite reported cases of COVID-19 among workers and at least one fatality related to the ongoing pandemic, according to a new policy brief from the National Employment Law Project.

Tumwater, WA — A new fact sheet from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is aimed at helping food processing and warehouse employers protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — A new online toolkit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is intended to assist safety professionals and health officials in assessing COVID-19 pandemic-related prevention and control measures at meat and poultry processing facilities.

Washington — OSHA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration have released joint interim guidance intended to help seafood processing employers reduce COVID-19 exposure among workers, including those at onshore facilities and aboard offshore vessels.

Washington — OSHA and the Food and Drug Administration have teamed up to develop a checklist intended to help food manufacturers protect worker health and practice food safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — Legislation reintroduced March 11 by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) would prohibit line speed increases in meat and poultry-processing plants during the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Durham, NH — U.S. seafood workers were twice as likely to contract COVID-19 as workers in other food industries during the height of the pandemic, results of a recent study indicate.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has developed a mobile app that allows users to easily search an online database of more than 400 disinfectant products that can help prevent and reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Lansing, MI — In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, two Michigan agencies have developed a coronavirus exposure notification app.

Washington — In light of emerging data on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released interim environmental cleaning and disinfection recommendations for community facilities with suspected or confirmed cases of the potentially deadly respiratory illness.

Lansing, MI — Michigan OSHA, along with the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, has published a 25-page guidance document intended to help employers safely return workers to office settings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oakbrook Terrace, IL — In response to the COVID-19 pandemic “pushing health care organizations to their limits and workers beyond physical exhaustion,” accreditation organization The Joint Commission has published a special edition Sentinel Event Alert highlighting adverse events and high-risk conditions.

New York — More than half of nurses in a recent survey say they had trouble sleeping during the first six month of the COVID-19 pandemic – a risk factor for increased feelings of anxiety and depression.