College/university incidence rate for 2007

The 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics on Incidence rates - detailed industry level is now available. Our industry sector -- Colleges, universities, and professional schools (NAICS code 6113) -- posted a total recordable case incidence rate of 2.6. The incidence rate for cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction (DART rate) is 1.0.

Most recent calendar year incidence rates for colleges, universities, and professional schools:

2007 -- 2.6
2006 -- 2.5
2005 -- 2.7
2004 -- 2.8

Article on undercount of workplace injuries and illnesses

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has issued an article (Monthly Labor Review, August 2008) that summarizes and critiques some studies on undercounting of workplace injuries and illnesses, and describes BLS efforts to better understand and address the undercount issue (see our June 27 post).

Proposal to strengthen penalties for PPE violations

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is accepting public comments on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training standards. The proposal clarifies that when an OSHA standard requires an employer to provide PPE, such as respirators, or training to employees, the employer must do so for each employee subject to the requirement. Each employee not protected may be considered a separate violation for penalty purposes.

The proposed rule affects OSHA’s general industry, construction, and maritime standards. In many cases, OSHA combines separate violations of a single requirement in a standard into a single penalty. However, under the instance-by-instance penalty policy, OSHA may propose a separate penalty for each specific violation where the employer demonstrates a flagrant disregard for safety and health.

The proposed rule makes clear that failure to provide appropriate PPE or training may result in per-instance penalties in appropriate cases.

Public comments are being accepted until September 18.

The news release on proposed rule is here.

U.S. Rushes to Change Workplace Toxin Rules

By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday,
July 23, 2008; Page A01

Political appointees at the Department of Labor are moving with unusual speed to push through in the final months of the Bush administration a rule making it tougher to regulate workers' on-the-job exposure to chemicals and toxins (Read more...)