Corporal punishment in America’s public schools seems like a relic of the past — a practice we had surely banned long ago. The reality, however, is that it’s perfectly legal to physically discipline students as young as preschoolers in 19 states. And according to a new report, corporal punishment is most often used against black students and students with disabilities.
A Labor Department report describes the ways in which our state-based workers’ compensation system is failing injured workers. Will the report become a roadmap for reform or another government report that collects dust?
Environmental Health
Chemical Safety Board’s missed opportunity to build public confidence, push reforms
Charleston, WV residents lost confidence in government officials when they received conflicting information about the January 2014 contamination of their tap water. The Chemical Safety Board missed an opportunity last week to restore some of that trust.
By now, the enormity of America’s opioid abuse and overdose epidemic is common knowledge. With 78 Americans dying every day from an opioid overdose and with enough painkillers prescribed to give just about every U.S. adult their own bottle of pills, there’s hardly a community that’s gone untouched by the deadly problem. And a new study reminds us that we’ll be dealing with the aftermath far into the future.
Just 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have been possible to bring leading physicians, scientists and advocates together in a consensus on toxic chemicals and neurological disorders in children, says Maureen Swanson. But with the science increasing “exponentially,” she said the time was ripe for a concerted call to action.
Farmworker and health groups submitted a petition to EPA urging the agency to immediately suspend the use of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide implicated in acute farmworker poisonings.
New Jersey’s growing temp industry is rife with labor violations, worker mistreatment; advocates in North Carolina demand safer conditions for poultry plant workers; former Wells Fargo workers sue over aggressive sales quotas that led to fraud; and an investigation into northern California’s marijuana industry finds rampant sexual abuse and assault.
Public Health Practice
Worth reading: Antibiotic resistance, invisible workforce, and detectives dismissing rape allegations
Recent pieces adress how the UN plans to address antibiotic resistance; New Jersey’s temp worker industry; Baltimore detectives’ dismissals of rape allegations with insufficient investigation; and more.
Despite all the concern about shuttered businesses, fired employees and lost profits, a new report has found that New York City’s paid sick leave law was pretty much a “non-event” for most employers.
The temperature yesterday in Austin, TX was 97 and the heat index was 104. My USPS mail carrier was feeling the heat in more ways than one.