Work-Related Hearing Loss

Work-related hearing loss continues to be a critical workplace safety and health issue. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the occupational safety and health community named hearing loss one of the 21 priority areas for research in the next century. Noise-induced hearing loss is 100 percent preventable but once acquired, hearing loss is permanent and irreversible. Therefore, prevention measures should be taken by employers and workers to ensure the protection of workers' hearing.

Magnitude

Approximately 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job and an additional nine million are at risk for hearing loss from other agents such as solvents and metals.

Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common occupational disease and the second most self-reported occupational illness or injury. Industry specific studies reveal:

• 44% of carpenters and 48% of plumbers reported that they had a perceived hearing loss.
  
• 49% of male, metal/nonmetal miners will have a hearing impairment by age 50 (vs. 9% of the general population) rising to 70% by age 60.

While any worker can be at risk for noise-induced hearing loss in the workplace, workers in many industries have higher exposures to dangerous levels of noise. Industries with high numbers of exposed workers include: agriculture; mining; construction; manufacturing and utilities; transportation; and military.

Costs

There is no national surveillance or injury reporting system for hearing loss. As such, comprehensive data on the economic impact of hearing loss are not available. The following localized examples provide an indication of the broader economic burden.

In Washington State, workers' compensation disability settlements for hearing-related conditions cost $4.8 million in 1991 (not including medical costs). When applied to the national workforce, occupational hearing loss costs an estimated $242.4 million per year in disability alone.

This figure does not include medical costs or personal costs which can include approximately $1500 for a hearing aid and around $300 per year for batteries. Moreover, workers' compensation data is an underestimate of the true frequency of occupational illness, representing only the tip of the iceberg.

In British Columbia, in the five-year period from 1994 to 1998, the workers' compensation board paid $18 million in permanent disability awards to 3,207 workers suffering hearing loss. An additional $36 million was paid out for hearing aids.

Through their hearing conservation program, the U.S. Army saved $504.3 million by reducing hearing loss among combat arms personnel between 1974 and 1994. The Department of Veterans Affairs saved $220.8 million and the Army an additional $149 million by reducing civilian hearing loss between 1987 and 1997.

Prevention

Removing hazardous noise from the workplace through engineering controls (e.g. installing a muffler or building an acoustic barrier) is the most effective way to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. Hearing protectors such as ear plugs and ear muffs should be used when it is not feasible to otherwise reduce noise to a safe level. NIOSH recommends hearing loss prevention programs for all workplaces with hazardous levels of noise. These programs should include noise assessments, engineering controls, audiometric monitoring of workers' hearing, appropriate use of hearing protectors, worker education, record keeping, and program evaluation.

For original NIOSH article, follow this Link

To check out the NIOSH noise meter, follow this Link (requires Flash)

Here for downloadable .exe file

ICE Issues Notices of Inspection to Employers

Following the 2008 elections, the federal government began to shift its policy on illegal immigration—instead of investigating and punishing undocumented workers, federal agencies began to focus on investigating and punishing employers that break the rules. In recent months there have been several developments in federal immigration policy.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently announced that it will audit the hiring records of 1,000 employers across the nation to determine compliance with employment eligibility verification laws. Audits involve a comprehensive review of Forms I-9, which employers are required to complete and retain for each employee.

Federal immigration law dictates that all employers are required to retain Forms I-9 for three years after the date employment begins or one year after the date of termination, whichever is later. Employers must be able to make Forms I-9 available for inspection if called upon by an officer of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Department of Labor. Failure to do so could result in the imposition of civil fines.

According to ICE, companies were selected for inspection as a result of investigative leads and because of their connection to public safety and national security. The companies' names and locations were not published by ICE because of the ongoing investigations.

In another immigration-related development, President Obama signed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010, which included a three-year extension of E-Verify, the federal government's electronic employment eligibility verification program, until Sept. 30, 2012. A proposal to make the program permanent and require its use by federal contractors was removed from the final law, but the Obama administration is enforcing an executive order that requires federal contractors to use E-Verify. The rule went into effect Sept. 8.

DHS recently unveiled a new "I E-Verify" campaign, which will allow consumers to know which companies are using E-Verify to maintain a legal work force.

"Verification is not just good business, it's the law," said ICE assistant secretary John Morton. "The main reason people enter the U.S. illegally is the opportunity to work. The public can and should choose to reward companies that follow the law and employ a legal work force."

Governor Rendell Announces Application for $5 Million Federal Recovery Act Grant to Train, Place Electric Power Sector Workforce

Harrisburg – Governor Edward G. Rendell today said the state has applied for a $5 million U.S. Department of Energy American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant to provide training and placement services for approximately 1,215 Pennsylvanians seeking careers in the electricity industry.

"Modernizing our electrical grid and related technology is important to the economy, the environment and even our national security,” Governor Rendell said. “By developing the training and employment opportunities workers need to be successful in the electric power sector, we will connect employers with job seekers, improve our ability to deliver clean energy to urban centers and protect our valuable infrastructure from degradation or attack.”

If awarded, the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board, or PA WIB, will use the grant to enhance statewide training and placement efforts for Pennsylvanians in the electric power workforce. The Pennsylvania Center for Green Careers, an arm of the PA WIB, will develop a pipeline of workers who are needed to implement the national clean-energy smart grid. The project will serve the current workforce by providing advanced training as needed and prepare others to join the electric power sector workforce.

For more information about how Recovery Act funds are benefiting Pennsylvania, visit www.recovery.pa.gov.

On WHD's increased enforcement efforts

Statement by US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on Wage and Hour Division’s increased enforcement and outreach efforts

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the increased enforcement and outreach efforts of the department’s Wage and Hour Division:

"There is no excuse for employers who disregard federal labor standards – especially those that are designed to protect the most vulnerable in the workplace. The failure to comply with these basic labor standards means that workers are not receiving the money they have earned. It is both an economic issue and a fairness issue. America’s workers should rest assured that protecting worker rights is a top priority at the Department of Labor. To make good on that promise, I have hired an additional 250 new wage and hour investigators, a staff increase of more than one third, to ensure that we promptly respond to complaints and can undertake more targeted enforcement.

"In the past three months alone, the department has had several significant enforcement cases, including collecting nearly $2 million in back wages for more than 500 workers.

"In early 2010, the department will launch a national public awareness campaign titled "We Can Help" to inform workers about their rights. The department will work closely with advocacy groups and other stakeholders to ensure that the materials developed for the campaign reach the workers who need them. We will not rest until the law is followed by every employer, and each worker is treated and compensated fairly."

What Employers Can Do to Protect Workers from Pandemic Influenza

During an influenza pandemic, transmission of the pandemic virus can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patients to workers in healthcare settings, but also from customers and coworkers in general work settings. Employers can use a set of occupational safety and health controls referred to as the "hierarchy of controls" to reduce exposures to pandemic influenza in their workplaces. The types of control measures, listed from most effective to least effective, that may be used to protect yourself, your workers and your customers are:

• Engineering controls;
  
• Administrative controls;
  
• Work practices; and
  
• Personal protective equipment (PPE).
  

Most employers will use a combination of these control methods. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of measure when considering the ease of implementation, effectiveness and cost.

Link to OSHA Fact Sheet

US Department of Labor welcomes GAO's report on under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses

OSHA finds problems identified in report alarming

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) welcomes the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report on the under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses and OSHA's audit process.

The report identifies a number of factors that may contribute to the inaccuracy of employer injury and illness records, as well as problems with the audits that OSHA conducts to ensure their accuracy.

Full Story

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Paid Sick Leave Bills Debated in Senate Subcommittee

Last week, the Children and Families Subcommittee of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee heard testimony on several bills that would mandate paid sick leave for U.S. workers. Paid sick leave advocates pushed for the passage of the Healthy Families Act (HR 2460 and S 1152) and the Emergency Influenza Containment Act (HR 3991). Opponents argued that mandated employer-paid sick leave would undermine economic recovery efforts.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Healthy Families Act in the U.S. House of Representatives in May. This bill provides that workers would earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to seven days of paid sick leave a year. Employees would begin accruing sick leave on their first day of employment and become eligible to use any accrued leave after 60 days of employment.

During the Senate subcommittee hearing, DeLauro said that "presenteeism," which is when an employee goes to work while sick, actually costs the national economy more than it would cost to provide paid sick leave.

Earlier this month, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Emergency Influenza Containment Act, which would provide employees with up to five days of paid sick leave per year and would cover full-time and part-time employees in businesses that have 15 or more employees. An employee could use the leave if an employer "directs" or "advises" the employee to go home as a result of a contagious illness such as the H1N1 virus.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the subcommittee, had introduced the Senate's companion bill to the Healthy Families Act with the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. During the hearing, Dodd stated that he planned to introduce a bill similar to the Emergency Influenza Containment Act in the Senate, but his bill would provide up to seven paid days for workers with flulike symptoms.

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), a member of the Senate HELP Committee, stressed that many employers are not even able to maintain payroll in this economic climate. He said, "If this is enacted, employers will be forced to adjust somewhere, either by reducing current health care or retirement benefits, or by downsizing their number of employees and adding to the ranks of unemployed."

S 1152 HR 3991

ARE YOU READY FOR VPP?

Do you have what it takes to be one of the best?
Are you prepared to adopt a comprehensive, rigorous safety and health management system that you tailor to your worksite’s specific needs?
Are you willing to try a cooperative, action-oriented approach where managers, employees, and OSHA work together to combat workplace hazards and reduce injuries and illnesses?
Do you want to be recognized for your commitment to worker safety and health?
If the answer is yes, then maybe you are ready for OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs.
VPP is open to private sector and federal agency worksites in most industries where OSHA has jurisdiction.

Find out more at: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp/vpp_kit.html

Don't Get Zapped - Be Safe with Electricity

Electricity provides power to operate machinery, lights, heaters, air conditioners, and many other forms of equipment. When not used correctly, electricity can be very dangerous. Accidental contact with electrical currents can cause injury, property damage, and even death.
Certain types of jobs put some workers at a higher risk - supervisors, electricians, painters, machine operators, and welders, just to name a few. No matter what the job or type of facility, electrical hazards must be evaluated.

OSHA Electrical Safety Regulations use two basic terms: Qualified Person versus Unqualified Person. A Qualified Person is one who has been trained to avoid electrical hazards when working on or near exposed energized parts. An Unqualified Person is someone who has little or no training regarding electrical hazards. Even though Unqualified Persons may not be exposed to energized parts, training should still be given - at minimum, they must be familiar with any electrical-related safety practice. This could be as simple as telling an Unqualified Person to shut off a machine if there is a problem and call a supervisor for assistance.

To use electricity safely, employees must be able to identify the most common electrical hazards and protect themselves, such as:

• 
  Wearing protective clothing - rubber gloves and rubber-soled shoes/boots when working around electricity
• 
  Inspecting tools - inspect tools on a regular basis, including the large tools such as table saws, drill presses, and bench grinders
• 
  Examining the power cord - inspection should be conducted to ensure the insulation around the power cord is in good condition. Power cords in poor condition should be replaced - never taped or spliced. Always inspect the cord BEFORE plugging it into the power outlet!
  
• Grounding properly - electrical equipment can protect you if the equipment is working properly. Never remove the grounding conductor from a plug. Electrical cords and plugs should never be modified from the original (OEM) condition.

By developing, implementing, and enforcing a well-defined electrical safety program, risk of injury to your staff can be minimized.

Genetic Information Non-descrimination Act (GINA)

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) goes into effect on November 21, 2009. Don't forget to replace your federal employment rights poster(s) at your office in order to remain in compliance!

GINA is designed to prohibit the improper use of genetic information in health insurance and employment. Specifically as it relates to employment, the legislation bans employers from using individuals’ genetic information when making hiring, firing, job placement, or promotion decisions.

President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on May 21, 2008, It becomes effective on November 21, 2009.

Emergency Influenza Containment Act

Introduced to Education and Labor Committee. 11/2/09

This bill provides employees with up to five days of paid sick leave per year and would cover full-time and part-time employees in businesses that have 15 or more employees. An employee could use the leave if an employer "directs" or "advises" the employee to go home as a result of a contagious illness such as the H1N1 virus. HR 3991