When Workers Are Killed on Small Farms, OSHA’s Hands Are Tied
A fateful decision by Congress more than 40 years ago gives the sites unique immunity from safety oversight, even as hundreds of employees have been killed or seriously injured.
Labor
Labor
Labor
With Rise in Chemotherapy for Pets, Higher Risks for Veterinary Staff
As more dogs and cats are treated for cancer, veterinarians and their assistants increasingly face the risk of exposure to hazardous drugs, which are often being handled without proper safeguards.
Labor
Violence Against Emergency Room Staffers Seen as Increasing
A new survey has found that nearly 50 percent of emergency physicians have been physically assaulted on the job.
Labor
Nebraska Firm and Its Owners Hit With Criminal Charges in Blast That Killed 2 Workers
The Justice Department announced a 22-count criminal indictment against a Nebraska railroad services company and its owners related to an April 2015 explosion that killed two workers.
Labor
Feds Extract Penalties in Crashes That Killed Five Migrant Farm Workers
For the second time in recent months, the U.S. Department of Labor has extracted penalties from a California farm business blamed for the deadly crash of a vehicle transporting migrant field workers to their jobs.
Labor
With Death of Port Worker, Checkered Safety Record of Cargo Handler Comes into Focus
For the third time in six years, a branch of one of the world’s largest cargo-handling companies has been accused by workplace safety authorities of a willful violation linked to a worker’s death.
Labor
Study Links Declining Union Strength to More Workplace Deaths
(Photo by Charles Evans Jr.) It’s no secret that the waning power of American unions has contributed to stagnant wages. But a new study suggests that this trend hasn’t affected just worker income. It also may have cost thousands of lives. The portion of the U.S. work force [...]
Labor
California Conservation Corps Failed to Heed Warning Signs Before Fatal Van Crash
Early on Feb. 2, 2016, a van carrying members of the California Conservation Corps paused at a stop sign on a country road near the Central Valley town of Reedley. Then the van rolled into the intersection, where it was broadsided by a 40-ton gravel truck and trailer, killing three corps members ...
Environment
Pesticide Use on California Farms at Near-Record Levels
A field in California's Salinas Valley where pesticides were applied. (Pgiam/iStock photo) Farmers in California, the nation’s top agricultural state, are applying near-record levels of pesticides despite the rising popularity of organic produce and concerns about the health of farmworkers and rural schoolchildren. The latest figures, released in [...]
Environment
High-Stakes Pesticide Battle Pits Farmer Against Farmer
Darvin Bentlage, farmer in southwest Missouri, showing a healthy soybean plant as well as a plant he says was damaged by dicamba that drifted onto his fields from neighboring land. Dicamba, an herbicide sold by agribusiness giants Monsanto, BASF and DowDupont, doesn’t just kill weeds. Last year, according [...]