The Department of Labor proposes a new rule to help miners with black lung disease; federal lawmakers introduce new hike to the minimum wage; worker safety outreach in Houston highlights the impact of new reporting rules; and a new museum is opening in honor of coal miners.
With Bernie Sanders there is no question where he stands and what he would do.
The association between financial hardship and medical care isn’t new. Even in wealthy countries such as the U.S., medical bills contribute to a large percentage of personal bankruptcies. Now, a new global study finds that dental care can also contribute to families falling into poverty and being left with fewer financial resources for basic necessities.
Today, Maine’s legislature held a hearing on the Toxic Chemicals in the Workplace Act, a proposal to require employers to identify harmful chemicals in the workplace and replace them with safer alternatives. It’s the perfect example of state action on behalf of worker safety and exactly the kind of measure that might no longer be possible under two congressional proposals aimed at overhauling the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.
Oregon mill workers describe a workplace rife with dangerous hazards; thousands of fast food and low-wage workers take to the streets for higher wages; labor advocates file worker retaliation complaint against Walmart; and new media workers start to organize.
Addiction & Substance Abuse
CDC: American youth now use e-cigarettes more than any other tobacco product
In just a year, electronic cigarette use has tripled among American teens. And considering that no one really knows what the related health impacts are and any regulatory framework is lagging far behind the growing popularity of e-cigarettes, public health advocates say it’s time for action.
Affordable Care Act
Poorer health, shorter lives and lower incomes: ‘We don’t really appreciate the magnitude of the problem’
Low income and poor health tend to go hand in hand — that’s not a particularly surprising or new statement. However, according to family medicine doctor Steven Woolf, we have yet to truly grasp the extent to which income shapes a person’s health and opportunity to live a long life. And if we don’t confront the widening income inequality gap, he says things will only get worse.
Recent pieces address condom innovation and approval, government handouts to the rich, online violence against women and girls, and more.
Today, nearly every state in the country has a law that bans texting while driving. But do these laws make a difference?
Advocates work to expand consumer concern from humanely treated food to humanely treated workers; workers with children face struggles in Silicon Valley; Texas lawmakers introduce bill aimed at fertilizer plants; Microsoft to require paid leave policies at its suppliers; and the McDonald’s wage hike is too small for too few.