National COSH’s “Dirty Dozen” report profiles 12 employers with horrific safety and labor practices. Of all the fine content in the report two short lines will be sticking with me this Worker Memorial Day.
Food Safety & Nutrition
Demonstration at Perdue chicken plant, Tyson Foods says its sustainability goals will integrate worker safety
Worker advocates and consumers continue to pressure poultry companies to improve conditions for their employees. Perdue accepted petitions from 100,000 consumers while Tyson Foods made promises to increase wages and reduce injuries.
Affordable Care Act
Study: Kids with chronic health problems will face greater financial burdens if forced out of CHIP
More than 8 million U.S. children depend on the Children’s Health Insurance Program for access to timely medical care. The program is authorized through 2019, but its federal funding expires in September and it’s unclear what Congress will do.
Legislation in response to a BuzzFeed News investigation into the Baltimore County Police Department’s failure to appropriately investigate many rape cases clarifies that in Maryland, no means no.
Affordable Care Act
The ACA marketplace is beginning to stabilize. But it can’t withstand federal sabotage.
There was always an assumption that the Affordable Care Act would need time to find its sea legs. That’s why it included measures to shield insurers from the potential profit losses that inherently come with offering millions more people better health coverage at more reasonable prices. Insurers operate on profit margins and the ACA took that into account, for better or for worse.
Environmental Health
Revolving door from chemical industry to EPA: No way to boost public confidence
A chemical industry representative said transparency will boost public confidence in the EPA’s chemical safety program. Trump has now appointed her to that office. How transparent will she be?
Recent pieces address the problematic HONEST Act, why it’s so hard to get ahead in the South, what motivates Dr. Willie Parker, and more.
A commentary by CUNY School of Public Health professor Franklin Mirer describes the ongoing interference by Congress on the science behind the designation of formaldehyde as a carcinogen. His commentary, “What’s Science Got to Do with It?” is timed perfectly for this weekend’s Marches for Science.
Immigrant workers who get injured at work now fearful about accessing workers’ comp; women ironworkers win six months of paid maternity leave; many home health workers still going without health insurance coverage; and a health care union declares itself a sanctuary for immigrants.
OSHA’s list of bad actors has two new members. An update of the agency’s “severe violators” program shows two companies were added since President Trump took office.