SafetyBlog

Employers will face fines for safety violations that are 80% higher than current fines starting on August 1.There's been some concern among lawmakers in recent years regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) somewhat lax fines. Lawmakers have said OSHA's current fine/penalty format isn't enough to effectively deter employers from violating its safety rules. As such, many employers simply accept (and pay) the fines without putting forth the effort to correct the underly …

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 600,000 Americans die from heart disease each year. And while there's no fool-proof way to prevent it, there are ways to lower your risk, including reducing your intake of sugar.It's no secret that sugar is bad for your health. It promotes weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even heart disease. Up until now, however, t …

Slip-and-fall accidents pose a serious threat to workers. While transportation-related accidents remain the number one cause of worker fatalities, slip-and-falls come in a close second. So if you're an employer or manager, you should take a proactive approach towards reducing slip-and-fall accidents in your workplace. Because turning a blind eye to the problem could leave workers susceptible to serious injury, or worse -- death.The good news is that ever since the Occupational Safety and Health …

What's the thermostat set to in your office? When you think of elements in the workplace that affect productivity, temperature probably isn't the first to come to mind. However, there's new evidence suggesting that office temperatures do in fact affect workers' productivity.Researchers from the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) conducted in which they discovered that worker productivity can be increased by up to 12% by increasing "cooling comfort" in the workplace. Researchers …

It's not just employers who are cited for safety violations; cities and municipalities can be cited as well.Earlier this month, the city of Berkeley, California was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for failure to meet certain safety standards, one of which consisted of providing a cover for each circuit breaker, as well as checking garbage trucks before each shift, and ensuring programs had the necessary training programs in place. In response to these citatio …