Sharon Thomas-Ellison works hard for her paychecks at Jimmy John’s. On occasion when no one else is available, the 19-year-old has worked from 11 in the morning until 1 a.m. at night with just a 30-minute break — and it’s okay, she says, she needs the extra income.
The Supreme Court’s “let the states decide” approach to marriage equality is similar to its stance on the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. How many of the states that have marriage equality are also expanding Medicaid?
Injury Control & Violence
News Flash: your safety program stinks if workers lose fingers in machines
After receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in OSHA penalties, and workers losing fingers in machines, you’d think this company would accept that its current safety program stinks.
When most of us pass by a new high-rise or drive down a new road, we rarely think: Did the builders and planners consider my health? However, a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers evidence that certain types of land use and transportation decisions can indeed limit the human health and environmental impacts of development.
Environmental Health
Dow Chemical’s “exemplary” worker safety program, an utter failure for Brian Johns, 45, burn victim
Serious safety lapses at the Deer Park, TX Dow Chemical plant led to the death of Brian Johns. An OSHA “Star” status is only as good as what happens for workers on the front lines.
President Obama’s nominee for regulatory czar has an affinity for timeliness. It will be interesting to see how he deals with a backlog of rules “under review” and an office plagued by missed deadlines.
It seems we barely go a week now without news of another violent gun incident. Last week’s shooting rampage in Santa Monica, Calif., has resulted in the deaths of five people. And since the Newtown school shooting last December — in the span of less than six months — thousands of Americans have been killed by guns.
Environmental Health
Lead-poisoned workers: Thousands each year in the US, especially among Hispanic workers
Between 5,000 and 6,000 cases of elevated blood lead levels from workplace exposures are reported each year to state health departments. In California, where the workforce is 36 percent Hispanic, the proportion of individuals with elevated blood-lead who also had Hispanic surnames was 64-70 percent.
Education
Sequestration and OSHA: Impact so far seems minor, but advocates brace for an uncertain future
Every week, the Austin-based Workers Defense Project welcomes standing room-only crowds to its Workers in Action meetings. And once a month, a local OSHA representative would join the meeting, giving some of Texas’ most vulnerable workers the chance to meet face-to-face with the agency. Unfortunately, due to the federal sequester, OSHA has had to indefinitely suspend its participation. It’s a significant loss.
When it comes to nonviolent drug offenses, systems that favor treatment over incarceration not only produce better health outcomes, they save money, too. It’s yet another example of how investing in public health and prevention yields valuable returns on investment.