scholarly journals A descriptive analysis of 2020 California Occupational Safety and Health Administration COVID-19-related complaints

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn D Thomas ◽  
Ellicott C Matthay ◽  
Kate A Duchowny ◽  
Alicia R Riley ◽  
Harmon Khela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
California Department ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Per Capita

COVID-19 mortality disproportionately affected specific occupations and industries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protects the health and safety of workers by setting and enforcing standards for working conditions. Workers may file OSHA complaints about unsafe conditions. Complaints may indicate poor workplace safety during the pandemic. We evaluated COVID-19-related complaints filed with California (Cal)/OSHA between January 1, 2020 and December 14, 2020 across seven industries. To assess whether workers in occupations with high COVID-19-related mortality were also most likely to file Cal/OSHA complaints, we compared industry-specific per-capita COVID-19 confirmed deaths from the California Department of Public Health with COVID-19-related complaints. Although 7,820 COVID-19-related complaints were deemed valid by Cal/OSHA, only 627 onsite inspections occurred and 32 citations were issued. Agricultural workers had the highest per-capita COVID-19 death rates (402 per 100,000 workers) but were least represented among workplace complaints (44 per 100,000 workers). Health Care workers had the highest complaint rates (81 per 100,000 workers) but the second lowest COVID-19 death rate (81 per 100,000 workers). Industries with the highest inspection rates also had high COVID-19 mortality. Our findings suggest complaints are not proportional to COVID-19 risk. Instead, higher complaint rates may reflect worker groups with greater empowerment, resources, or capacity to advocate for better protections. This capacity to advocate for safe workplaces may account for relatively low mortality rates in potentially high-risk occupations. Future research should examine factors determining worker complaints and complaint systems to promote participation of those with the greatest need of protection.

Are we Failing Vulnerable Workers? the Case of Black Women in Poultry Processing in Rural North Carolina

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-40
Author(s):  
H. J. Lipscomb ◽  
J. M. Dement ◽  
C. A. Epling ◽  
M. A. Mcdonald ◽  
A. L. Schoenfisch
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Musculoskeletal Symptoms ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Poultry Processing

In 1989, North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors cited two poultry processing plants in northeastern North Carolina for serious repetitive motion problems. In 1990, investigators from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health confirmed significant upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders among workers. We now report on analyses of baseline data collected from a cohort of women employed in one of these plants. The plant, which is the largest employer of women in the area, is located in a sparsely populated area with a black majority where nearly one-third of the population lives below the poverty level. Conditions we report suggest failure of existing health and safety systems, both regulatory and consultative, to prevent morbidity among vulnerable women in this industry, as well as social and economic conditions that influence availability of work and use of benefits to which they are entitled.

scholarly journals Regulation by Shaming: Deterrence Effects of Publicizing Violations of Workplace Safety and Health Laws

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 1866-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Improve Compliance ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Health Regulations

Publicizing firms’ socially undesirable actions may enhance firms’ incentives to avoid such actions. In 2009, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began issuing press releases about facilities that violated safety and health regulations. Using quasi-random variation arising from a cutoff rule OSHA followed, I find that publicizing a facility’s violations led other facilities to substantially improve their compliance and experience fewer occupational injuries. OSHA would need to conduct 210 additional inspections to achieve the same improvement in compliance as achieved with a single press release. Evidence suggests that employers improve compliance to avoid costly responses from workers. (JEL J28, J81, K32, L51, M54)

Commercial Diving Operations During Salvage and Pollution Response Operations1

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Hazardous Substance ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Standards And Regulations

ABSTRACT Oil spill response personnel encounter commercial diving operations during salvage and pollution response operations. During an oil spill or hazardous substance release, the National Contingency Plan requires that response operations, including commercial diving operations, be conducted in accordance with the requirements, standards, and regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Additionally, the Coast Guard requires that commercial diving contractors meet their own commercial diving regulations (46 CFR 197) during response operations. Incident commanders and safety officers should ensure that an inspection of the on-site diving operation is conducted to confirm that commercial diving personnel, operations, and equipment meet the applicable regulations. This technical paper provides guidance to response personnel on the inspection of commercial diving operations during marine response operations and an overview of the equipment used to protect divers in contaminated waters. Additionally, this guidance provides checklists to facilitate the inspection of commercial diving operations to protect the health and safety of commercial divers.

Managing Workplace Safety and Health

2013 ◽  
pp. 512-536
Author(s):  
Thomas Kniesner ◽  
John D. Leeth
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Economic Incentive ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Safety And Health

This entry explicates how market forces incent managers to be concerned with worker health and safety. It also notes how supplementing market forces are government actions intended to improve work-related health and safety. These include the legal system under tort laws, states’ workers’ compensation insurance Programs, research into the causes of health hazards at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the federal government’s workplace regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). An important empirical conclusion emerging is that the labor market, via the additional compensation workers require for exposure to health and safety risks, provides the largest economic incentive for managers making workplace decisions involving worker health-related well being.

scholarly journals Descriptive Study of Safety and Health Training Content in Iranian Universities and Higher Education Institutes

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
MASOOMEH VAHABI ◽  
MOSTAFA POUYAKIAN ◽  
ZAHRA MOHAMMADI ◽  
GHASEM HESAM ◽  
HOSSEIN AFIFEHZADEH KASHANI
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
General View ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Health Related

The root cause of many workplace incidents is the lack of knowledge on occupational safety and health principles. Despite the safety and health authorities in organizations, safety and health is the general responsibility of all other experts working in an organization. Experts and managers are expected to think, decide and work safely in workplaces. However, we don’t have enough information about the level of safety and health-related education when they were in universities. In addition, there is not too much reliable published reports on the academic teaching of safety and health courses and syllabus in higher education in Iran. Therefore, the current study was aimed to provide a general view of the status of occupational safety and health teaching subjects in different academic disciplines (excluding specialized fields in occupational safety and health) in the Iranian higher educational system. Firstly, the latest edition of the entire program (curricula) of all academic disciplines held in Iranian universities was downloaded. Secondly, the required information, including discipline title, program’s degree, number of required (core) and elective (non-core) courses, and program’s date of approval, were recorded in an Excel sheet. Every course’s title and syllabus were then studied to find out any safety and health-related topics. Finally, data were analyzed and reported. 251 academic disciplines in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) and 771 disciplines in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT) were investigated. Most of the curriculums have been revised by both ministries since 2011. Results showed that 20 percent of the MOHME‎ ‎disciplines and 10.4 percent of MSRT‎ disciplines were included in the occupational safety and health courses. The number of courses with health and safety content (syllabus outline) in the MOHME ‎‎and the MSRT‎ were 168 and 173. Most health and safety courses presented in the MOHME academic majors were in the basic medical sciences category of disciplines. A majority of MSRT covered academic safety and health courses and topics were presented in the engineering category of disciplines. Presenting lessons with health and safety content at the MOHME ‎was more practical than that of the MSRT. The quality and quantity of teaching on safety and health topic were not at satisfactory levels. Revising the course syllabus of the academic disciplines and adding theoretical and practical courses related to each field's specific health and safety curriculum can make a significant contribution in improving the general knowledge of the safety and health of the university graduates. In turn, it improves future workplace safety and health conditions, managers’ insights and decision-makers on the importance of safety and health at work. It protects the people's life and the property of the organization.

scholarly journals Ubiquitous learning in occupational health and safety for vocational education

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 285
Author(s):  
Ketut Ima Ismara ◽  
Amin Suharjono ◽  
Didi Supriadi
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Instructional Media ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Analysis Design

<span>This research aimed to develop instructional media for occupational safety and health android-based for vocational schools. The second aim is to determine the feasibility of instructional media and student responses. The type of research is research and development (R&amp;D) with the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation (ADDIE) method, namely, analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire with fourth scales. Data collection used an assessment questionnaire for two experts and 103 users. Research data analysis techniques used quantitative descriptive analysis. This study's results have produced products in the form of android-based instructional media for Occupational Safety and Health. In this study, we designed and developed an application called Zerosicks for mobile devices to help students learn occupational safety and health principles. The results of testing for all features and navigation work well and under their <span>functions. The assessment results by content experts, media experts, and students as users indicate that this media has a very decent level of eligibility. Suggestions for product development are to</span> add videos to the media, provide selected music, and add discussion forums for users.</span>

scholarly journals Evaluation of an Occupational Safety and Health Training for Cannabis Cultivation Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (7) ◽  
pp. 765-769
Author(s):  
Carol E Brown ◽  
Erin Shore ◽  
Mike V Van Dyke ◽  
Joshua Scott ◽  
Roberta Smith
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Hazards ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Repetitive Motion ◽  
Change Behavior ◽  
Safety And Health

Abstract Objectives As the commercial cannabis industry grows, there is an increased need to characterize potentially hazardous workplace exposures and provide training to workers to mitigate these exposures with the goal of reducing accidents and injuries from cannabis cultivation, processing, and manufacturing. Public health and safety stakeholders in Colorado developed a worker-focused training designed to improve hazard awareness, recognition, and controls related to commercial cannabis cultivation. This paper describes the evaluation of this training. Methods The training was a full day, in-person educational experience directed to workers in the cannabis cultivation industry. Training topics included an overview of occupational safety and health hazards, chemical exposures, slip, trips, and falls, repetitive motion, the application of the hierarchy of control including lockout/tagout, machine guarding, personal protective equipment, among others. Evaluation surveys assessed attendee demographics, perceived job hazards, confidence to change workplace practices, knowledge, training relevancy and quality, intent to change behavior, as well as barriers and resources. Results A total of 208 people attended the safety trainings. One hundred and thirty-four participants (64%) completed the pre-training survey and 107 (51%) completed the post-training survey. Respondents provided high ratings for the quality and relevance of the training, with 91.3% of respondents rating the training very good or excellent. Before the training, the attendees listed their most concerning safety and health issues as exposure to pesticides and other chemicals (65.7%), absorbing chemicals through the skin (56.7%), slips, trips, and falls (52.2%), and respiratory hazards (50.7%). After the training, they reported the most concerning hazards to be slips, trips, and fall hazards (65.4%), ergonomic problems (64.5%), and respiratory issues (61.7%). There was a statistically non-significant increase in knowledge scores from 67.1% correct to 76.0% correct. Finally, 88.5% of respondents felt extremely or very confident that they could change their own health and safety practices at work. Conclusions The training successfully reached cannabis employees in cultivation, compliance, and management. Survey respondents felt that the training was of high quality and addressed gaps in their knowledge related to safety and health hazards in the cannabis industry. The workplace safety and health concerns shifted from pre- to post-training. There was a statistically non-significant increase in knowledge. Additional follow-up of training attendees would be beneficial to measure sustained impact of training.

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