As your employees return to work, their onsite safety is still a critical concern. Our services are specifically tailored to helping your workforce remain safe and productive in the aftermath of COVID-19.
Last month, we hosted an Occupational Health Insights panel focused on medical marijuana in the workplace. Comprised of several health industry professionals, including PRIME’s medical director and founder, Dr. Luke Lee, panelists discussed the topic and the countless things employers should be aware of.
With Louisiana’s medical marijuana program starting earlier this year, many participants were interested in its potential impact. The discussion covered several potential problem areas including insurance coverage, workers’ compensation and the enforcement of pre-existing company policies. “A lot of companies feel an ethical responsibility not only to protect their workers but also the community,” said Dr. Lee.
We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the Safety Council of Southwest Louisiana in our new Lake Charles location. The Safety Council of Southwest Louisiana is a non-profit organization dedicated to cost-effective services for the local community and business sector, serving the area since 1955.
PRIME representative, Angie Hickok, delivered an informational presentation about heat stress at a client safety day.
You know that older workers bring skills, experience, and a respect for the rules to the workplace. But what about the driving? According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), “older drivers are more likely than their younger counterparts to adopt safe behaviors such as wearing a seatbelt and complying with speed limits.” However, NIOSH says those 55 and above are twice as likely to die in a work-related crash than other workers.
An inclement weather policy has two dimensions: The first and most important is employee safety; the second is pay.
“Employers should give serious thought to allowing employees to stay home on days when there is a significantly elevated risk of a traffic accident, as no employer wants to see an injury or fatality occur because an employee felt obligated to come to work even though the roads were not safe,” noted Paul DeCamp, an attorney with Epstein, Becker & Green in Washington, D.C., and former administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
It is important for employers to know the wind chill temperature so that they can gauge workers’ exposure risk better and plan how to safely do the work. It is also important to monitor workers’ physical condition during tasks, especially new workers who may not be used to working in the cold, or workers returning after spending some time away from work.
A total of 5,190 workers died from on-the-job injuries in 2016 – a 7 percent increase from 2015 and the highest number of fatalities since 5,214 workers died in 2008, according to data released Dec. 19 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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The preliminary list of OSHA’s Top 10 violations for Fiscal Year 2017 remained largely unchanged from FY 2016, except for one new addition: Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503) entered the list at No. 9 with 1,523 violations, just ahead of Electrical – Wiring Methods (1,405 violations). The entire list was revealed during the 2017 National Safety Council’s Congress & Expo.
The top five remained identical to the FY 2016 list, with Fall Protection – General Requirements at No. 1 by a wide margin with 6,072 violations. In a distant second was Hazard Communication with 4,176.
