Fall 2013 – Summer 2014

The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety Fall 2013 – Summer 2014 By Liz Borkowski, MPH & Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH September 1, 2014 Liz Borkowski, MPH is a Senior Research Scientist at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and Managing Editor of the journal Women’s Health Issues. Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH is a Professorial Lecturer at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. The authors thank Anthony Robbins, MD, MPA for editorial assistance. This report was produced with funding from the Public Welfare Foundation, but the views expressed in it are those of the authors alone. Graphic Design: TheresaWellingDesign.com Table of Contents Introduction and Overview ........................................................................................1 I. The Federal Government and Occupational Health and Safety .........................3 Better Rules to Protect Miners from Black Lung Disease ...............................................................3 OSHA Proposes New Silica Rule .......................................................................................................4 Improving Protections for Temp Workers .......................................................................................5 Leadership Failures at the Chemical Safety Board .........................................................................5 Farewells ............................................................................................................................................6 OSHA .................................................................................................................................................7 MSHA .................................................................................................................................................9 Chemical Safety Board ...................................................................................................................10 NIOSH ..............................................................................................................................................12 Chemical Safety: Postscript to West Fertilizer ..............................................................................13 USDA Poultry Slaughter Rule .........................................................................................................14 Regulatory Delays and Setbacks ....................................................................................................16 Worker Health and Safety in the National News .........................................................................17 II. Addressing Occupational Health and Safety at the State and Local Levels .....25 New Laws on Paid Leave, Minimum Wage, and More ................................................................25 Other State Activities ....................................................................................................................31 Local Reporters Draw Attention to Workplace Health and Safety Problems ............................32 III. New Research on Worker Health and Safety .....................................................37 Peer-Reviewed Literature ..............................................................................................................37 Reports from Non-Profit Organizations ........................................................................................43 Legal Perspectives on Occupational Health and Safety ...............................................................45 The Year Ahead .........................................................................................................47 Peer-Reviewed Research on Occupational Health & Safety Topics (August 2013 through July 2014) ........................................................................49 ii The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety: 2014 Report Introduction and Overview n this report we capture some of the noteworthy happenings in occupational health and safety during the past year (August 2013 through July 2014) in the United States. We want it to be Ia resource for activists, regulators, researchers, and anyone else who values safe and healthy workplaces. Much as the AFL-CIO’s annual Death on the Job report focuses attention on workplace injury and illness statistics each spring, this report documents successes, challenges, and areas ripe for improvement in occupational health and safety. This is the third annual edition of The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety; the first two are available at http://bit.ly/1n6yZb1. Our report is not exhaustive. To keep it to a and helped draw public attention to occupa- manageable length, we made some tough tional illness – a topic that gets too little public decisions about which activities and projects to attention. include or omit. Blog posts published on the State and Local Activities: Several state and public health blog The Pump Handle (http:// local governments have passed worker-friendly scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/) during the laws on issues where federal action has stalled. week of Labor Day 2014 will invite readers to Two New Jersey cities – Newark and Jersey add their own stories about important worker City – passed laws requiring employers to let health and safety happenings from the past workers earn paid sick time, while New York year. Our report covers the following areas: City and the District of Columbia strengthened The Federal Government: The 16-day “gov- their existing paid-sick-days laws. Several states ernment shutdown” in October 2013 demon- and cities adopted minimum-wage increases. strated how dysfunctional the US Congress has Minnesota lawmakers packaged nine bills 1 become. Advocates have little hope for new together into the Women’s Economic Security federal laws to address the appalling annual Act, which aims to “break down barriers to toll of worker deaths, illnesses, and injuries. economic progress facing women – and all The Occupational Safety and Health Admin- Minnesotans.” istration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health New state laws also address specific groups of Administration (MSHA) both took important workers who currently face high injury and steps to better protect workers from lung dis- illness rates or are vulnerable to a range of eases caused by respirable dust, but they also abuses. California and Massachusetts adopted saw important proposals delayed by the White new bills of rights for domestic workers, while House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Texas and Maryland took steps to safeguard Affairs (OIRA). The USDA continued to move healthcare workers from on-the-job violence. forward with a proposed regulation to “mod- ernize” poultry slaughter despite its grave New Research on Worker Health and Safety: consequences for poultry workers. Sustained Several studies published over the past year opposition to USDA’s plan earned modest con- have advanced knowledge of the hazards cessions for poultry worker safety. faced by particular groups of workers: indi- viduals who responded to the 2001 World Bright spots at the national level over the Trade Center attacks, Latino workers, health- past year included increased attention from care workers, and farmworkers. New research OSHA to hazards facing temporary workers, is also helping identify promising approaches an MSHA crackdown on mines with the worst for improving workplace health and safety. safety records, and a multi-agency effort to Studies over the past year include comparisons reduce the safety risks in the production and of different safety trainings for agricultural storage of hazardous chemicals. In addition, a workers on pesticides and for healthcare Center for Public Integrity reporter won a Pu- workers on needlestick injuries, as well as litzer Prize for his series addressing black-lung investigations into the effectiveness of using disease benefits. It was a well-deserved honor Introduction and Overview 2 promotoras to deliver health and safety train- guides for achieving occupational health and ing to Latino farmworkers and of incorporat- safety improvements at the state and local lev- ing assertiveness training into fall-prevention els, where legislators are less gridlocked than classes for construction workers. their federal counterparts. Publications from nonprofit organizations For every city or state that succeeded in pass- shed light on the costs of failing to adopt poli- ing a law to improve workers’ lives, several cies to safeguard workers’ wellbeing. They cal- more were mounting campaigns inspired by culate the long-term tolls when lawmakers cut recent victories. In the coming year, we can the budgets of worker health and safety agen- expect to see even more workers and advo- cies and fail to consider safety records when cates standing up to demand safe and healthy awarding contracts. New resources also include working conditions and livable wages. The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety: 2014 Report The Federal Government and Occupational Health and Safety t the federal level, advocates faced both progress and setbacks this year on the worker health and safety front. Both OSHA and MSHA took important steps to better protect Aworkers from illnesses caused by exposure to respirable dust. MSHA issued a final rule to reduce miners’ exposure to coal dust, and OSHA proposed a regulation on crystalline silica. Both agencies, however, also deserted regulatory initiatives previously identified

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