Happy birthday, Cavalcade of Risk! – Russell Chatswood hosts the Fifth Anniversary Edition of Cavalcade of Risk – check it out. Russell is a New Zealander and among the Cavalcade’s posts is an update on the Christchurch earthquake claims from a report issued by New Zealand’s Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI).
New to our blogroll – DePaolo’s Work Comp Blog – by industry veteran Dave DePaolo, founder and CEO of WorkCompCentral.
When the bears win – In a post at Comp Time today, Roberto Ceniceros reports on a Utah appeals court ruling that upheld benefits for a light-duty employee who was fired for sending porno to colleagues via email. In citing the ruling, Ceniceros quotes The Stranger in the The Big Lebowski who said, “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, well, he eats you.” That is our nomination for our motto of the week.
Zombie style at the CDC – Have trouble getting your message heard by employers and employees? Maybe you need a new, attention-getting spin. Consumer Insurance Blog posts about how the CDC highlighted the importance of disaster and emergency planning by repackaging it as Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse. With this packaging, they went from a few thousand page views for normal posts to more than 1.2 million over the course a few days.
Cell phones & brain cancer – In reaction to the recent World Health Organization warnings about cancer and cell phones, Merril Goozner posts about the role that conflicted science plays. Also see Gary Schwitzer’s post: News release precedes release of evidence on new cell phone/brain cancer warning.
ADA Amendments Act – The final regulations issued by the EEOC to implement the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 became effective on May 24. The new regulations feature 9 “Rules of Construction” to help employers determine whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity. HR Daily Advisor offers a pair of posts to help employers plan for the changes: ADAAA Effective Tomorrow–Ready for Its 9 Rules of Construction? and ADAAA Effective Today–Steps Employers Should Take.
Cool tool – Objects falling from a height are a serious safety hazard – that’s why anyone working at a height should secure their tools. Tethers are a good way to do this. Hammerhead Industries offers a one page reference sheet: Tool Tether Guide (PDF)
Bus safety – At Risk Management Monitor, Jared Wade brings the news of another fatal bus crash which claimed the lives of 4 and injured more than 50. Driver fatigue is cited as the cause of the crash. Wade cites this as another instance highlighting the industry’s lack of oversight, and posts about other recent coverage on bus safety. He notes that there have been two stalled-in-Congress bills that have attempted to impose greater regulations: the Motor Coach Enhanced Safety Act and the Bus Uniform Standards and Enhanced Safety (BUSES) Act.
OSHA fines – from The Safety Blog, the Top 10 fines for construction companies. “In total in the 2010 fiscal year OSHA inspected 16,473 small construction companies and handed out 50,630 citations. These citations cost employers more than $46 million or an average of about $900 a citation.”
Tags: ADA, CDC, drivers, mobile phones, Utah