Department of Labor finds New Mexico company wrongfully fired inspector who raised concerns during gas pipeline installation at Oklahoma site

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Department of Labor finds New Mexico company wrongfully fired inspector who raised concerns during gas pipeline installation at Oklahoma site OKLAHOMA CITY – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a New Mexico-based inspection company to reinstate and compensate a terminated worker who reported safety concerns during installation of a natural gas pipeline in Watonga, Oklahoma.The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated a whistleblower complaint filed against Legacy Energy and Distribution LLC that alleged a construction crew was installing a pipeline without following federal regulations. The complainant used “stop work authority” to halt the installation and contacted an independent, third-party testing company to verify observed concerns, which Legacy later confirmed as valid. Legacy subsequently fired the inspector, alleging failure to follow the established chain of command and complete the probationary period.OSHA determined that Legacy wrongfull...
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Department of Labor encourages construction industry employers, stakeholders to join 2024 National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls

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Department of Labor encourages construction industry employers, stakeholders to join 2024 National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is encouraging construction industry employers and workers across the nation to take part in its 11th annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction from May 6-10. The event focuses attention on preventing the industry’s leading cause of worker deaths.The national stand-down recommends employers and workers pause voluntarily during the workday for safety demonstrations, hazard recognition and fall prevention training, and “tool-box” talks about hazards, protective methods and their company’s safety policies, goals and expectations. This year, OSHA is partnering with Construction Safety Week, an organization of more than 70 national and global construction firms, to enlist employers in the U.S. to create the largest industry-wide construction stand-down ever held.Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker will observe the 2024 stand-down at an event on Washington’s National Mall on May 8. “In 2022, falls from elevation claimed the lives of 365 construction workers,” said Parker. “This real and persistent hazard requires OSHA to use all available tools, including working with construction employers on how to identify and better control fall-related hazards and embrace safety and health as a core value on their worksites.”OSHA developed the national safety stand-down as part of the fall prevention campaign and in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Occupational Research Agenda and The Center for Construction Research and Training. Since 2014, this effort has helped train more than 10 million workers on fall prevention.Learn more about OSHA and its national emphasis program to prevent workplace falls.

Published at May 07, 2024 at 05:00AM
Read more at https://dol.gov

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