Designing buildings to be resilient against fire takes collaboration and knowledge.

An Insulation—and drywall!—contractor talks about success and looming concerns.

The fundraiser at the charity that uses music to work with vulnerable people talks to Third Sector

The Charity Retail Association is pushing for better volunteering practices and a renewed focus on reuse

Labour plans to engage with the sector on policy development and delivery, Lilian Greenwood tells a voluntary sector hustings event

Washington – Nearly 30 percent of employers that rank among the top violators of federal wage and safety laws receive federal contracts, according to a report issued Dec. 11 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after a yearlong investigation.

Washington – The acting chair of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has been designated and sworn in as the official chair, OSHRC announced in a Jan. 19 press release.

Washington – Heather MacDougall is the new chair of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, sworn in Aug. 16 after being appointed by President Donald Trump.

Rebecca Cooney finds out how Making a Difference Locally is living up to its name

Tumwater, WA – Washington state is offering grants to fund innovative workplace safety and health or return-to-work programs.

Workers' compensation costs are increasing nationwide, but experts say those costs – as well as fears on the part of injured workers – can be reduced with a well-designed return-to-work program.

Dallas – More people are able to return to work after suffering cardiac arrest thanks in part to an increased number of bystanders performing CPR, researchers conclude in a new Danish study.

Honolulu – Injured public employees in Hawaii must complete a return-to-work program before receiving vocational rehabilitation benefits, under a new state law.

Cambridge, England – Stroke patients frequently contend with “invisible impairments” that make keeping a job difficult, but employers can help, according to a study from the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London.

Almost one-third of strokes occur in people younger than 65 – many of whom say they plan to return to work. To help stroke victims get back on the job, employers need to understand possible impairments and how workers can be accommodated, experts say.

Norwich, England — Managers need to “foster a supportive culture between colleagues” to help workers returning from sick leave feel they’re being treated fairly, according to researchers from the University of East Anglia and Stockholm University.

Cambridge, MA — A Workers Compensation Research Institute study of workers with low-back injuries shows those who receive longer-term prescriptions for opioid painkillers take significantly longer to return to work than those who are not prescribed opioids.

The Centers of Occupational Health and Education program – part of the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries – is designed to get injured workers back on the job while curbing long-term disability rates.

Norwich, England — A positive attitude and supportive co-workers are among the most important factors for a successful return to work for an employee who has been on leave for an injury or illness, according to researchers from the University of East Anglia and Uppsala University.

Canterbury, England — Many people returning to work after the death of a loved one don’t receive adequate support from their employer, according to a study from Canterbury Christ Church University.

Manchester, England — Walking speed is the strongest predictor of a stoke victim’s ability to return to work, with about 3 feet per second the “critical threshold,” say researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Austin, TX — The percentage of injured workers who returned to work within six months of an injury steadily rose about 5 points in Texas during a recent 11-year period, according to a recent report from the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Itasca, IL — Safely returning people to work during the COVID-19 pandemic requires more than a single, one-dimensional strategy, NIOSH Director John Howard says.

The National Safety Council has launched SAFER: Safe Actions for Employee Returns, a comprehensive, multifaceted initiative aimed at developing industry- and risk-specific recommendations and resources for all U.S. employers.

Washington — Workers’ opinions about returning to the office amid the COVID-19 pandemic vary greatly based on each individual’s situation, but most want their employer to take certain actions to ensure their safety when they do, results of a recent survey show.

New York — Fewer than 3 out of 10 employees who are working remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic expect to return to their physical workplace by the end of the year, and some groups feel more pressure than others to do so, results of a recent survey suggest.

Ann Arbor, MI — Nearly 3 out of 5 workers who are hospitalized with traumatic injuries return to their jobs after being discharged, but many of them endure financial hardships and other issues, results of a recent study led by researchers from the University of Michigan show.

Tumwater, WA — A new toolkit from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries offers employers resources they can use to help injured employees return to work as soon as medically possible, aid worker recovery and prevent long-term disability while reducing the financial burden of workers’ compensation claims.

Longmeadow, MA – A majority of fast-food workers have suffered an injury while on the job within the past year, a new report from the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health indicates.

Oakland, CA — California’s Office of Administrative Law on March 9 approved a workplace health and safety standard for the state’s hospitality workers, completing a multiyear push by hospitality workers union UNITE HERE.

Los Angeles — Nearly a quarter of the fast-food workforce in Los Angeles County tested positive for COVID-19 during the first 18 months of the pandemic, a likely result of adverse working conditions and shaky compliance with safety measures, a recent report from the University of California, Los Angeles and UC Berkeley suggests.

Sacramento, CA — Legislation signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sept. 5 authorizes the creation of a council charged with establishing minimum standards on working conditions, hours and wages for fast-food workers statewide.

Chantilly, VA — Fire and emergency medical service workers are being urged not to ignore or downplay the warning signs of a heart attack – a leading cause of firefighter fatalities – as part of a new awareness campaign launched by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Washington — Concerned that firefighters’ protective gear may contain potentially harmful “forever chemicals,” the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association are advising their members to take precautions to reduce exposure.

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board is warning companies and workers alike about the dangers of conducting hot work – welding, riveting, flame cutting or other spark-producing activities – near tanks that contain biological or organic material.

Washington – OSHA has released a bulletin with information on how to protect workers from carbon monoxide explosion hazards related to electric arc furnaces in the steelmaking industry.

Triangle, VA — United Mine Workers of America President Cecil E. Roberts recently called proposed legislation that would reduce the scope of mine safety inspections in West Virginia and amend the state’s underground ventilation laws “one of the most outrageous attempts to slash critical protections for miners’ safety and health on the job that I have ever seen.”

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.”

Trenton, NJ — A new law in New Jersey will provide temporary workers with additional rights and protections against unsafe working conditions.

The Alert Band is a wearable early-warning Bluetooth fatigue detector band that attaches to a driver’s forehead.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says scammers are sending “very convincing” emails that look like an agency notification to schedule a safety audit.

Sacramento, CA – Almost 1 million people in California have work-related asthma, according to a new surveillance report from the California Department of Public Health.

Falls Church, VA – Workers may be exposed to a group of synthetic chemicals used in building materials without realizing it, according to a new white paper from the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

Austin, TX — The Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation has published a plain language glossary intended to make workers’ comp insurance easier to understand.

San Francisco — The California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended 178 medical providers from its workers’ comp system during the first eight months of the year.

Austin, TX — In Texas, 69% percent of employees who returned to work within six months of being injured in 2020 remained on the job for at least nine months.

Washington — OSHA has scheduled a free webinar on its Beat the Heat contest.

Lansing, MI – The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has approved two alternatives for complying with its rules on scissor lifts.

Designed for personnel working in paint booths and on-the-ground manufacturing repair and operations, the G7c is a combined safety monitoring and communications device that continuously monitors the concentration of hazardous gases or fumes, and communicates the employee’s identity and location to a live monitoring team in real time.

The External Pump is a single-button motorized sampling pump that gives any Gas Clip diffusion detector (single-gas and multi-gas) the ability to take remote samples from up to 75 feet away, drawing in air at 2 feet per second.