Dollar General, a nationwide discount retailer, has agreed to make comprehensive workplace safety improvements in its stores nationwide and pay $12 million in penalties, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced. The agreement resolves multiple OSHA investigations into alleged safety violations at various Dollar General locations, including: OSHA’s agreement aims to boost workplace safety […]
An EEOC suit filed against a government contractor has ended with an agreement that calls for the contractor to pay more than $1 million and take other steps to resolve charges that it discriminated against employees with disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The target of the EEOC suit was Didlake, […]
Microaggressions at work are everyday slights, insults, putdowns and offensive behaviors that, cumulatively, take a toll on employees from underrepresented communities. They can be accidental – or intentional. Either way, left unchecked, microaggressions in the workplace can negatively impact careers, reduce employee engagement and lead to burnout. And if that’s not enough to give pause, […]
An employee who said work caused his hearing loss applied for workers’ compensation benefits. But unfortunately for him, he also provided testimony that cast doubt on the assertion that his hearing loss was caused by exposure to noise at work. In the end, a court determined that he was not entitled to collect workers’ compensation […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a proposed heat safety rule that aims to protect workers from extreme heat as persistent heat waves bring record-breaking temperatures across the U.S. The rule, if finalized, would establish the first-ever national heat safety standard. Here’s what you need to know about the proposed regulation – […]
A new U.S. Supreme Court washes away a 40-year-old rule that gave federal agencies broad power to fill in the blanks when federal laws are ambiguous. As a result, courts now have a greater say when it comes to deciding what ambiguous statutory language means and how the law is to be applied. The ruling […]
If you got stuck in an elevator at work, would you expect to receive workers’ compensation or other benefits? A Virginia employee who found herself in that situation thought she should get workers’ compensation benefits, but the state’s workers’ compensation commission saw things differently and denied her request. The unfortunate employee, who worked for a […]
A metal refinisher in Houston was cited by OSHA for 44 workplace safety violations for exposing workers to dozens of serious safety hazards. In December 2023, federal investigators opened an investigation at Outdoor Furniture Refinishing Inc., operating as Allied Powder Coating, and identified 39 serious violations and five other-than-serious violations. Specifically, the investigation determined the […]
After a national company rescinded an Ohio employee’s religious accommodation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stepped in on the worker’s behalf. Here’s what happened, according to the EEOC’s lawsuit. Accommodation Revoked Charles Lynch was an employee for Wheeler Trucking, a nationwide automotive hauling and logistics company. Lynch is Israeli and practices the Jewish faith. […]
The Department of Labor has determined that an employer is to blame for injuries suffered by a worker whose face was burned as he was cleaning a machine. Doskocil Manufacturing Inc., which operates as Petmate, became the target of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation after an accident at its Texas manufacturing facility. […]
A mobile home manufacturer in Alabama could’ve prevented a 62-year-old roofing laborer’s fatal fall if the employer had followed OSHA’s fall protection standards, a federal investigation found. Because the employer failed to do so, it now faces a hefty penalty on top of dealing with the tragedy. Here’s what happened, according to OSHA. OSHA finds […]
When are expectant fathers entitled to FMLA leave? And what exactly are they entitled to? What about FMLA leave for new fathers? A new ruling from the Eleventh Circuit provides valuable insight that can be applied when assessing FMLA for dads — both new and soon-to-be fathers. New Hire’s an Expectant Father In November 2020, […]
Is high blood pressure a legitimate reason to take FMLA leave? The question came up in a case from Arkansas. Here was the scenario. An employee missed work without warning for a week. His reasoning? He was just diagnosed with high blood pressure, was put on prescription medication and his doctor told him to schedule […]
In recent weeks, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has been focused on protecting its citizens from wage theft. Here’s what’s happening in the nation’s capital, according to the lawsuit – and what HR can learn from it. OAG Investigation Finds Disturbing Wage Theft Scheme This week, the OAG filed a […]
It’s not too often that a workplace injury as relatively minor as a broken foot leads to a multi-million dollar jury verdict. But due to an unusual set of circumstances, that is exactly what happened in a recent California case involving a train yard worker. In early February 2016, Pablo Scipione was called into work […]
A recent study found that falls are among the costliest workplace injuries. In fact, they’re in the top three workplace injuries with the highest compensation payouts. So when it comes to protecting workers from deadly fall hazards, most employers stand firm on safety training requirements and the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). When […]
