Although safety training has always evolved to meet the needs of the workplace, best practices focused primarily on physical safety and compliance issues. While these remain high on the list of priorities, the fundamental changes brought on by the pandemic broadened the perception of safety and psychological safety and mental health and wellness have emerged […]
For decades a 500,000-square-mile zone in the Atlantic Ocean triangulated between Puerto Rico, Florida, and Bermuda has been dubbed the Bermuda Triangle. This area has been linked to the mysterious disappearance of ships and aircraft dating back to 1945 when five U.S. Navy aircraft vanished without a trace. What happened is a matter of speculation […]
Quiet quitting, which refers to doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than necessary, became a hot topic in 2022. The concept is not new – between 13 and 20 percent of Americans have reported being actively disengaged at work since Gallup started conducting employee engagement […]
The experience mod is an important piece of the pricing puzzle for most businesses’ workers’ compensation. For many companies, especially those in construction and oil and gas industries, the experience mod is frequently used as a factor in the bidding process. In the 36 states where the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) governs the […]
Many things about our daily lives returned to normal as we have come out of the pandemic. But there is one change that is likely never to go back to the old ways, and that is employees working from home. Much has been said about managing remote employees effectively: are they putting in the hours, […]
Top 10 most cited standards The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released its preliminary list of the most frequently cited safety standards for fiscal year 2022 ( Oct. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2022). While the order may change, OSHA’s top ten cited standards are remarkably constant year after year. Ascertained from inspections […]
To fill critical openings and to maintain flexibility in economic uncertainty, more employers are hiring temporary workers. OSHA and other organizations have long argued that temporary workers are at increased risk of injury because they are often placed in various jobs, which can be hazardous, aren’t properly trained, have language and cultural barriers, and are […]
There’s much good news in workers’ comp – rates have fallen in most states, frequency of injuries continues to decline, and the industry is healthy – but employers should be concerned by the rising costs of claims when they do occur. Workers comp is one of the most loss-sensitive insurance policies – the more you […]
For the first time, the new National Emphasis Program (NEP) https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/heat-nep-factsheet-en.pdf creates a nationwide enforcement mechanism to proactively inspect workplaces for heat-related hazards (outdoors and/or indoors) in general industry, maritime, construction, or agricultural operations. OSHA plans to initiate programmed (pre-planned) inspections in over 70 high-risk industries in indoor and outdoor work settings when the National […]
While many employers anticipated an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding COVID-19 on March 15 per President Biden’s Executive Order, OSHA took an unusual step and launched a COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (NEP) https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/DIR_2021-01_CPL-03.pdf on March 12 before issuing the ETS. It is expected that an ETS will be forthcoming, but the only official statement from […]
