April 15, 2024 The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Monday that it cited a Florida contractor following the September 2023 heat-related death of a sugar cane farm worker. OSHA cited Belle Glade-based McNeill Labor Management Inc. for one “serious” violation for exposing workers to hazards associated with high ambient heat while working under direct sunlight and proposed $27,655 in penalties. The company has contested the citation and proposed penalties before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The worker, who came to Florida from Mexico to work at the farm, died on his first day on the job, OSHA said. The man suffered fatal heat-related injuries while working in an open field as the heat index reached 97 degrees. Read more

April 12, 2024 'Regulations promulgated in Washington or Tallahassee are less likely to be appropriate than in almost any other area of regulation.' Florida cities and counties will be barred from requiring businesses to give water breaks or other “cooling measures” to employees who work outside after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 433. The measure also removes the power of local governments to require contractors to pay higher wages, or use higher pay as an incentive in awarding bids. The new law, which takes effect July 1, also bars cities and counties from requiring employers to give workers their work hours ahead of time. Read more

April 11, 2024 Psychosocial hazards in the workplace are causing physical and psychological harm to employees at increasing rates and driving a call to improve worker well-being, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Psychosocial hazards are on the verge of surpassing many other occupational hazards, the report states. This could lead to a decrease in employee health, an increase in workplace injuries and disabilities and potentially higher workers compensation costs. “The extensive and cumulative impacts of these exposures represent an alarming public health problem that merits immediate, increased attention,” NIOSH wrote. Psychosocial hazards can also lead to burnout, cardiovascular disease, depression, high blood pressure, sleep disturbances and suicidal ideation, according to NIOSH. Read more

April 10, 2024 PALATKA, FL – As he had many other days, the morning shift welder arrived at 5 a.m. to work at St. John's Ship Building Inc. in Palatka on Aug. 28, 2023. Tasked with doing some fabrication work in a 4-foot by 8-foot space in a ship’s hull, the employee began work unaware that fatal suffocation would soon end his life. Less than two hours after entering the ship, a supervisor found the unconscious welder and signaled for help, only to fall unconscious as well. A third employee appeared, alerting EMS and the Palatka Fire Department who soon transported all three workers to a nearby hospital. Despite emergency treatment, the welder died from a lack of oxygen. The supervisor and the third worker received medical treatment and were released. Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined St. John’s Ship Building exposed workers to oxygen deficiency by sending the welder into a confined space without first testing the air for oxygen content. The presence of welding gas in the space created an oxygen-deficient atmosphere. Read more

April 5, 2024 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Southeast Third Avenue bridge over the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale reopened Friday morning after part of a crane collapsed Thursday afternoon, killing a construction worker and injuring three people on the ground. Fort Lauderdale Police identified the worker Friday as 27-year-old Jorge De La Torre. A large, blue piece of steel from a crane at the Gables Riverwalk construction site at 333 N. New River Drive E. smashed into two cars on the drawbridge, landing on top of a van and crushing the passenger side of the vehicle. The front of a Tesla was also severely damaged. The bridge was closed to boats and cars until about 9 a.m. Friday, when the city said both car and boat traffic was restored. No signs of the accident were evident on the bridge itself Friday morning except for a remnant of caution tape. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation with Phoenix Rigging & Erecting LLC, Kast Construction, LLC, and Maxim Crane Works LP, spokesperson Erika Ruthman wrote in an email Friday morning. Kast Construction has received multiple OSHA violations over issues relating to falls and a lack of guardrails, records show. In 2023, the company was fined two separate times, totaling over $20,000, for failing its “duty to have fall protection” standard. Read more

April 4, 2024 A Florida appellate court on Wednesday reversed a decision granting summary judgment to a contractor who was sued by a worker who alleges he was injured during a fall while he was securing a tarp to the roof of a two-story residence in preparation for an insurance inspection. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal found that a trial court wrongly determined Claudio Navarro failed to establish he was working under the direction of Alfredo Borges when he was injured in October 2017. Mr. Borges sent Mr. Navarro to Palmetto Bay to place a tarp on the roof of a home damaged during Hurricane Irma, the ruling states. Mr. Navarro installed the tarp without incident. Days later, Mr. Navarro, on a different job site, overheard workers discussing problems with the tarp, after which Mr. Borges “had given the order” for Mr. Navarro to fix the issue prior to the insurance inspection, the ruling states. Mr. Navarro fell while attempting to correct the tarp problem without safety equipment and was injured. Read more

April 3, 2024 The Florida Legislature just passed a bill to loosen existing work restrictions for minors who are at least 16 years old. Governor DeSantis signed the bill on March 22, and it will take effect on July 1. You should note that both federal and state laws restrict the time of day and number of hours that minors can work, the type of work that minors can perform, and the equipment they can use. Although the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs child labor and sets the minimum standards, states can enact more restrictive child labor laws. Florida is one of the states that has enacted more restrictive child labor laws — but the new legislation lightens up on restrictions for older teens, allowing those workers and their employers more flexibility. Here’s what employers need to know about HB 49 and the top five questions to consider when hiring teenagers. Read more

April 1, 2024 Rising temperatures are causing problems for workers in industries such as construction, warehousing and transportation, and heat-related workers compensation claims are increasing as a result, experts say. As more claims are submitted, claims professionals are stepping up investigations to determine whether they are compensable. Safety advocates, meanwhile, are urging the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to finalize a workplace safety standard that addresses the potential for heat-related injuries (see related story below). Heat-related workplace risks are expected to increase, as insurers “across the country have identified climate change as an emerging concern,” said Patrick Coate, an economist with the Boca Raton, Florida-based National Council on Compensation Insurance, which is researching the connection between weather severity and increased worker injuries. Insurers manage heat-related workers comp claims much like other injury claims, with investigations of causation and early treatment. Read more

April 1, 2024 What an injured worker eats has become a talking point for workers compensation claims handlers as they explore the intersection of nutrition and injury recovery. Proper nutrition “is something that we identified because if there’s poor nutrition, they’re not going to recover as quickly or as well, especially if they’re having a surgery,” said Dr. Adam Seidner, Hartford, Connecticut-based chief medical officer at Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. The discussions over nutrition branched out from worker advocacy models in workers comp — where there’s more interaction between injured workers and claims handlers on issues that may not be directly related to a claim but could affect the outcome. “We know that proper nutrition is a key governor of health,” said Dr. Teresa Bartlett, Troy, Michigan-based managing director, senior medical officer, at third-party administrator Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. It’s especially important for the aging workforce, which already faces delayed recovery, she added.\ Nutrition is “one of the key factors that determines if someone will age well, if their bones are healthy, if their muscles are healthy,” she said. “We know that if you’re having a surgery, just like the fact that you shouldn’t be smoking because you won’t recover adequately, if you’re not getting proper nutrition your bones and your skin will not heal properly.” Read more