By Rick Schmitt on November 14, 2019
To his supporters, former air marshal Robert MacLean personifies the best traits of whistleblowers, determined to expose the government’s dirty laundry, even at high personal cost. To critics, he’s an obsessive and even vindictive ex-federal employee who overstepped his bounds. Now he’s battling over the need for secondary barriers to keep would-be intruders from reaching the cockpit.
Posted in FairWarning Investigates, Recent Stories | Tagged Airline safety, Aviation Safety, Whistleblowers, Workplace Safety and Health |
By Rick Schmitt on January 18, 2018
Sales of most corded window blinds and shades – products blamed for the strangulation deaths of more than 300 U.S. infants and toddlers since 1981 — will come to an end late this year. The decision last week by the window covering industry to quit selling the items in the U.S. and Canada is a…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Rick Schmitt on January 12, 2017
A few years ago, motivated by a family history of dementia, Bea Pena-Reames began using a dietary supplement that promised improved memory and brain health. It was advertised as safe and effective – but that was not her experience. “I’m typically a joyful person, but I couldn’t shake this depression and intense sense of sadness,”…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Consumer Protection, Pharmaceutical Industry and Drugs |
By Rick Schmitt on July 13, 2016
Congress today sent to President Obama legislation to address the growing safety threat posed by thousands of drones entering the nation’s airspace. The safety measures are contained in a bill to continue the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration, whose legal authority is due to expire on Friday. The Senate today approved the legislation following…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Airline safety, Aviation Safety |
By Rick Schmitt on July 5, 2016
Federal regulators are investigating a possible defect in Ford Explorers following scores of complaints about exhaust and carbon monoxide pouring into the passenger compartments of the popular SUVs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had received 154 complaints from owners of 2011 to 2015 Explorers, who reported exhaust leaks into their vehicles. According…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Rick Schmitt on June 9, 2016
Over the years, more than 300 children in the U.S., most under age two, have died from strangling on window cords. Despite calls from safety experts and parents groups, manufacturers and retailers have continued to sell window blinds and shades with pull cords. But now, a few companies are breaking ranks
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer product safety, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Rick Schmitt on September 24, 2015
A federal judge today rejected an allegation of legal corruption against BNSF Railway Co., ruling that a former company executive didn’t threaten to blackball an arbitrator to win a favorable ruling in a dispute with a fired worker. Judge Ronald Leighton in Tacoma, Wash., said comments made to the arbitrator by the retired BNSF executive,…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Workplace |
By Rick Schmitt on September 10, 2015
A run-of-the-mill employment dispute could become a major embarrassment for railroad giant BNSF over an allegation that a senior executive threatened to blackball an arbitrator from the industry if she ruled against the company. In a federal court case set to go to trial next week in Tacoma, Wash., a fired BNSF Railway Co. employee…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Workplace |
By Rick Schmitt on June 4, 2015
After years of inaction, federal regulators are trying to crack down on the use of cheap novelty helmets linked to thousands of motorcycle crash deaths and injuries in recent years. The novelty helmets do not comply with federal safety standards, and provide little or no protection against head injuries in a crash. Still, as FairWarning…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Product Hazards and Recalls |
Strangulation Hazard From Window Blind Cords
By Rick Schmitt on April 16, 2015
After fixing a quick snack for her children one day in October 2013, Erin Shero returned to the downstairs playroom of her suburban Chattanooga, Tenn., home. She wanted to check on the youngest of her five kids, Colton, who was two days away from his second birthday. Thinking he was asleep, Shero reached down to…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Product Hazards and Recalls |
