LAFAYETTE, La. – Furthering safety and health for oil and gas workers in Louisiana is the goal of an alliance signed today by the Baton Rouge Area Office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the South Louisiana Service Transmission, Exploration and Production Safety Network.

Change would involve checking box for a musculoskeletal disorder

Company receives 46 safety and health violations at 3 Ohio facilities

MORRAL, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Gavilon Grain LLC in Morral following the September 2010 death of a 20-year-old worker who was caught in a discharge auger while cleaning out a grain bin.

Agency doing everything possible to support good, safe jobs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that it has temporarily withdrawn from review by the Office of Management and Budget its proposal to restore a column for work-related musculoskeletal disorders on employer injury and illness logs. The agency has taken this action to seek greater input from small businesses on the impact of the proposal and will do so through outreach in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.

Employers fined nearly $1.4 million

MOUNT CARROLL, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor has fined Haasbach LLC in Mount Carroll and Hillsdale Elevator Co. in Geneseo and Annawan, Ill., following the deaths of three workers, including two teenagers. The workers were killed when they suffocated after being engulfed by grain.

Lead Enterprises Inc. issued 32 citations, more than $307,000 in penalties

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations to Lead Enterprises Inc. in Miami, Fla., alleging that the company knowingly neglected to protect employees from lead exposure. The company is being cited with 32 safety and health violations, and $307,200 in total proposed penalties.

Agency examines other approaches to prevent work-related hearing loss

Chicago-area contractor previously issued 13 citations, $360,000 for failing to protect workers

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking an administrative court order requiring Gerardi Sewer & Water Co., a Norridge, Ill.-based contractor, to provide a monthly report of its work locations to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, permit unannounced jobsite audits by qualified independent consultants and annually train workers on cave-in protection for the next two years.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis will re-establish the charter of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. Established in 1995, the committee is composed of approximately 15 members who are industry professionals selected to represent the interests of the maritime community. A notice is published in today's Federal Register, which may be viewed at http://s.dol.gov/CJ.

Agency rescinds Clinton-era directive and gives workers more safeguards against falls

NACOSH meeting scheduled for Jan. 19-20, 2011

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced appointment of five new members to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. The department's emphasis on worker safety and health was enhanced by these new appointees, who will serve two-year terms, and are leaders in the fields of medicine, academia and safety program development.

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today cited the hazardous waste management processor, WRR Environmental Services Co., for failing to implement measures to prevent potentially catastrophic chemical fires and explosions at its facility in Eau Claire. OSHA has issued 14 willful and one serious citation to the company with proposed penalties of $787,000 for failing to fully develop and implement a process safety management program at the facility.

COFFEEN, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited U.S. Minerals LLC with willfully exposing its workers to dangerously high levels of hazardous dust, and not providing adequate breathing protection and training for workers at its facility in Coffeen. The company, headquartered in Dyer, Ind., has been issued a total of 28 health and safety citations with proposed penalties of $396,000.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that it is extending by 90 days the official comment period on the proposed interpretation titled "Interpretation of OSHA's Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise," which was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 19. Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments by March 21, 2011.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics today announced that the number of reported nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases that required days away from work to recuperate decreased by nine percent to 1,238,490 cases in 2009 for private industry, state government and local government. Additionally, BLS reported that the total incidence rate decreased by 5 percent to 117 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is encouraging CEOs of 14 major retail companies to take precautions to prevent worker injuries during Black Friday and the holiday season's other major sales events. Toward that end, OSHA has sent a letter and fact sheet on "Crowd Management Safety Tips for Retailers" to the CEOs.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 54 workplace safety and health citations with penalties totaling $1.2 million to gun powder substitute manufacturer Black Mag LLC, following an investigation into the causes of a deadly explosion in May at the company's worksite in Colebrook, N.H. The explosion took the lives of two workers who had been on the job for only a month.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics today announced that nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers declined in 2009 to a rate of 3.6 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, down from a total case rate of 3.9 in 2008. BLS also reported a decline in the total number of cases from 3.7 million in 2008 to 3.3 million in 2009. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement:

WASHINGTON – In conjunction with Drive Safely Work Week, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced an education campaign calling on employers to prevent work-related distracted driving, with a special focus on prohibiting texting while driving.