New final rules help protect workers

OSHA issued a final rule on the personal protective equipment standard for the construction industry. The changes clarify that equipment must fit each employee properly to protect them from workplace hazards.

The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs issued a final rule that requires self-insured coal mine operators to post adequate security for their Black Lung benefit liabilities, protecting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund against assuming the liabilities of bankrupt coal mine operators.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule updating testing, evaluation and approval requirements for electric motor-driven mine equipment and accessories used in gassy mines with high risks of fire and explosion. The rule incorporates voluntary consensus standards for gassy mining environments and is approved by the American National Standards Institute. The rule allows product designers and manufacturers seeking MSHA approval to follow ANSI voluntary consensus standards or existing MSHA-specific technical requirements.

OSHA inspectors found widespread failures by Mitchell Industrial Tire Co. Inc. that exposed dozens of employees to serious and deadly injuries, including a forklift operator who died after a pallet of truck tires fell on him at an Elm Mott, Texas warehouse. The company received citations for 12 violations related to improperly trained forklift drivers and storing pallets more than 16-feet high unsafely.

The Women’s Bureau recognized 16 days of activism against gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work by renewing a memorandum of understanding with the International Labour Organization and publishing five blogs focused on resources and information for employers, unions, governments and more on how they can ensure safe workplaces for all, including: 

• Identifying risk factors and offering solutions to diminish the risk of GBVH. 
• Addressing GBVH as a work safety and health issue.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at mines in 13 states in October 2024 where safety failures merit increased agency attention and enforcement and issued 286 violations. Since 2023, impact inspections have identified 4,965 violations. MSHA began monthly impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners.

Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams was part of the U.S. delegation to the first-ever G7 Ministerial Meeting on Inclusion and Disability in Italy.

Our Wage and Hour Division is now on Facebook! Follow them for information on wage and hour laws, compliance guidance and worker rights.

The department has obtained a court judgment to recover $414,351 in overtime wages and damages from a Pennsylvania healthcare agency that purposefully denied 16 workers full wages.

For the 8th time since 2020, OSHA has cited an Illinois roofing contractor for exposing workers to falls from elevation, the construction industry’s deadliest hazard.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration joined the nation in observing National Miners Day on Dec. 6 to recognize the skills and sacrifices of miners and their families.

We've sued the U.S. Postal Service and two managers in Pennsylvania for terminating a worker who raised concerns about using an unsafe loading dock.

Federal safety inspectors have cited two Florida contractors that face a total of $363,436 in penalties for endangering employees in unprotected trenches in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach.

We’ve created new videos in three Indigenous languages — Mixteco Alto, Mixteco Bajo and Nahuatl — to help migrant workers in the U.S. know their rights. Help us share them to get the word out.

A new Employee Benefits Security Administration blog encourages you to review your retirement and health benefits to ensure you’re prepared for your future.

The U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs last month, and payroll employment gains show a healthy labor market with low unemployment, meaning more working Americans have more money in their pockets.

✨ What's your work style based on your zodiac sign? 🔮 Here's a quick peek into your professional persona (just for fun)! If you have questions about worker rights or employer obligations, call 1-866-487-9243 or contact the office near you dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/local-offices. #WorkersRights #Compliance #WageTheft 

-WHD Facebook

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