October 9, 2025 Philadelphia — Overuse injuries on the job can lead to elevated inflammation levels, mood changes and chronic pain, results of a recent study suggest.   A team led by Temple University researchers trained a group of rats to reach and pull a lever for a food reward until they reached 55% of their maximum voluntary pulling force. The rats were then placed into two groups. One performed high-repetition, low-force tasks for six weeks with a goal of four reaches pe

October 8, 2025            Two cases before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals could place limits on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) ability to cite employers for failing to prevent workplace violence. Both cases involve psychiatric hospitals where staff reported assaults by patients, and OSHA issued citations under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act’s “General Duty Clause,” which requires employers to provide workplaces “free from recogni

October 8, 2025   Arlington, VA — Third-party ratings for safety equipment shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for compliance or regulatory standards, the International Safety Equipment Association cautions in a Sept 29 statement.   The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab on Sept. 22 published its inaugural assessment of 17 construction safety helmets for their reduction in “linear and rotational head acceleration” during a range of falls considered to be “severe but survivable.”   ISE

October 8, 2025   A new survey finds that small business employers and employees differ in their workplace safety priorities.   Notable gaps in perception regarding training, communication and safety priorities were uncovered in Pie Insurance’s 2025 Employee Voice on Workplace Safety Report.   The InsurTech’s survey of over 1,000 small business employees shows alignment on core safety goals, with both employers and employees agreeing that approximately half of workplace injur

October 7, 2025 Arlington, VA — Good worksite housekeeping can significantly reduce miners’ exposure to respirable dust and silica, the Mine Safety and Health Administration says in a recently published health alert.   The agency warns that “dusty work clothes are a significant source of secondary exposures” to dirt and dust, which can also be tracked into work areas from miners’ boots.   Best practices for keeping work areas clear of dust and silica include:  Regularly wash

October 6, 2025 A toxic cloud of chemicals was released from an industrial site near Cocoa Beach last week, but authorities said no one was seriously injured, and the leak has been repaired.   Florida Today and other news outlets reported that about 10 gallons of bromine and sodium cyanide escaped from the FAR Chemical research facility in Palm Bay, causing an orange mist that was seen in photos taken by nearby residents and news crews.   Both of the chemicals are considered

October 6, 2025                                                       Boca Raton, FL — Motor vehicle crashes are the most expensive type of workers’ compensation lost-time claim, costing over 70% more than the average lost-time claim, a  new report  reveals. Using National Council on Compensation Insurance’s Statistical Plan data from 2002 to 2022, report author Brian Stein, an assistant actuary at NCCI, found that motor vehicle crashes account for just 5% of lost-time worker

October 2, 2205   The U.S. Labor Department cited a Florida painting contractor for willfully exposing employees to fall and drowning hazards after a worker fell into a river near Savannah, Georgia, and drowned.   Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration looked into the April 7 incident, in which bridge painters with Seminole Equipment “were removing scaffolding from the southbound (Interstate 95) bridge on the Ogeechee River when one

October 2, 2025   The president’s campaign promise of no taxes on tips and no taxes on overtime pay was fulfilled with the signing of the tax law, H.R. 1, in July 2025. With only four months left in the year, employees who receive this additional compensation and employers who need to understand their requirements are starting to ask how this will be put into action.   The IRS began providing guidance on the types of jobs that are covered by this provision in the law, and the

October 1, 2025   As of September 30, 2025, Florida’s minimum wage has increased to $14 per hour for non-tipped employees and $10.98 for tipped workers.   Many believe it’s a significant step toward the $15 target set for 2026 by the state’s 2020 constitutional amendment. This Florida minimum wage increase has compelled HR professionals across industries to update their payroll systems and ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).   To help employers, we’ve

October 1, 2025   The legality of firearms possession in Florida continues to evolve, with an important change as of September 25, 2025.   After the First District Court of Appeal struck down the state’s decades-old Open Carry ban in  McDaniels v. State  on September 10, 2025, declaring § 790.053, Fla. Stat., unconstitutional, Florida’s attorney general instructed prosecutors and law enforcement not to enforce the ban, making Open Carry the new “law of the state.” In plain En

Oct 1, 2025   Exoskeletons, an increasingly common technology used in manual labor to help reduce the lifting mechanisms that can cause musculoskeletal injuries, provide “minimal and inconsistent benefits” in reducing shoulder muscle strain during simulated construction tasks, according to a study.   The study, reported in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s October newsletter and conducted by researchers at Texas Tech University and the University of