You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January, 2007.
Yesterday, the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on “Allegations of Political interference with the Work of Government Climate Change Scientists.” As committee chair Henry Waxman noted in his opening statement, the committee had been investigating this matter for several months, and had good reason to be concerned:
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Les Skramstad was a good, decent man. He died earlier this month at 70-years young, from damage inflicted years earlier by greedy and reckless employers. Read the rest of this entry »
When workplace disasters make headlines, worker health and safety advocates have an opportunity to push for better legislation and enforcement. Recent news stories follow up on the response to last year’s mining disasters and the 2005 explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery. (As always, Jordan Barab’s Confined Space has comprehensive back stories to these disasters.) Plus, there’s news about police officer deaths, prison labor, and a safety fine for Tyson’s.
by Les Boden
Yesterday’s Washington Post has a long story about Mercury Morris, star running back of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated team in modern NFL history. Morris’ neck was broken in a 1973 game on national television, and he has had significant physical and emotional problems ever since. He also has been fighting, unsuccessfully, for work-related disability payments for twenty years.
One of the best ways that mothers, fathers, grandparents, and caregivers can find out about hazardous agents in their homes, communities, and workplaces is by reading the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), an agency created in 1966 by the Surgeon General as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). EHP is published monthly and can be accessed on-line at no cost. Some of the scientific articles published in EHP may be too technical for some readers, but the journal’s Environews section is written with the general public in mind. Environews translates complex, cutting-edge scientific topics into narratives that are understandable and accessible to everyone. It is a breath of uncontaminated air by those of us outside the NIH. Read the rest of this entry »
Some of you may recall Mike Casey’s compelling exposé in the Kansas City Star (Wayback Machine version here) regarding OSHA’s outrageously low fines for safety violations– even those directly responsible for serious injuries to or even deaths of unsuspecting workers. While OSHA is supposedly committed to levy fines “sufficient to serve as an effective deterrent to violations”—the punishment rarely fits the crime. According to former OSHA assistant secretary Jerry Scannell, (1989-1992), the current fines are “almost like chump change with some companies.”
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The pharmaceutical industry was a hot topic in the blogosphere this week:
Cervantes at Stayin’ Alive advocates for a ban on direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (as opposed to the proposed legislation likely to come from the pharma industry).
Orac at Respectful Insolence has a different take on the “DCA is a miracle cancer drug Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know about” idea that’s spreading through the blogosphere.
Andrew Leonard at How the World Works knows what will make your sympathy for Big Pharma disappear.
And, of course, there were plenty of interesting posts on other topics:
By David Michaels
Yesterday’s post by Les Boden on workers’ compensation fraud by employers brings up an important question: How much fraud is there in the comp system and who is responsible?
Insurers and employers have worked diligently to convince the public that the workers’ compensation rolls are filled with malingerers, intent on ripping off the system. The evidence is always anecdotal, like surreptitiously filmed clips of the supposedly disabled workers doing the mambo. If injured workers get the message that they will be labeled as “malingerers” if they receive apply workers comp payments, they are more likely to use their own resources to cover their medical and lost wage costs, subsidizing unsafe employers.
When I reviewed the literature on comp fraud (big file here), it became clear to me that employers are responsible for far more fraud than are workers, and that, for all the outrageous anecdotes, actual investigations into worker fraud find few cases of substance.
Massey Energy, a major US coal mine operator, is boasting that its safety program has won the “highly coveted” Golden Pyramid Award. Isn’t it a bit peculiar that a mining company where three workers were killed in 2006 would be recognized for its workplace safety and health program? And, we wonder what kind of organization would give Massey this distinction?
by Les Boden
Today, The New York Times reports on an important study that shows us the tip of the iceberg of employer workers’ compensation fraud.
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