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PANAMA CITY, Fla.—Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis announced three contractors conducting business in Leon, Gadsden, and Gulf counties have been removed from the Panhandle by his Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team for unlicensed activity following Hurricane Michael. The contractors are banned from soliciting or conducting any work in Florida pending a full investigation. CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Anyone who tries to take advantage of Florida families and businesses during this vulnerable time will be caught. I can’t stress this enough: do not hire anyone without asking for their professional license information and if they have workers’ comp insurance. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues to provide technical assistance and outreach in areas hit hardest by Hurricane Michael, and is returning to normal enforcement operations throughout most of Florida and Georgia. In the storm’s aftermath, OSHA had ceased programmed-planned enforcement inspections in all impacted areas, and deployed safety and health professionals to assist employers and workers involved in recovery operations to eliminate serious hazards. To date, OSHA’s safety and health technical assistance has reached more than 2,400 workers, and on-site interventions have removed more than 600 workers from serious hazards. This work will continue in heavily impacted areas. OSHA continues to retain the right to perform enforcement inspections involving fatalities, catastrophic incidents, employee complaints, incidents involving life-altering injuries, and employers who repeatedly expose employees to serious hazards during cleanup and recovery activities. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a South Florida utility company and related contracting company after the agency’s investigation into the deaths of three workers who succumbed to toxic gases in a manhole on Jan. 16, 2017. A 34-year-old pipe layer entered the manhole – a confined space – and quickly became unresponsive. A 49-year-old laborer entered the hole and attempted to rescue the first employee. After the second employee also became unresponsive, a 24-year-old equipment operator followed to help his fallen coworkers. All three men died. Post-incident atmospheric testing in the manhole revealed lethal levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide. Two other employees and a volunteer firefighter were also exposed to the toxic gases in the manhole during rescue attempts but survived Click here to read more:

If you have 10 or more employees at any time during a calendar year, the Department of Labor requires you to maintain an OSHA 300 Log. It is also one of the requirements of the Workplace Safety Credit Program. Maintaining the log is not difficult. You can choose to maintain the OSHA 300 log by hand or on your computer, whichever makes you most comfortable. A couple of things you might want to know: According to OSHA: “Cases listed on the Log of Work Related Injuries and Illnesses are not necessarily eligible for workers’ compensation or other insurance benefits.” “Listing a case on the Log does not mean that the employer or worker was at fault or that an OSHA standard was violated.” “Your employees have the right to review your injury and illness records.” We have attached a link to both the fillable form along with the paper form and their instructions. Click here: If you have questions on the requirements of the OSHA 300 Log or maintaining one, please don’t hesitate to call us at (561) 500-FLWC (3592). This is one of the many services provided by Work Comp Associates, Inc.

Focus on safety at your company so your employees are not one of the four million injured each year. This keeps your employees productive at work and at home. It helps your employees and your business succeed. Having an effective safety program is key, and contains these three elements: 1. Management Leadership – Management must be committed to creating and maintaining a safe workplace. 2. Worker Participation – Employees are the ones that see the hazards in the workplace first hand. They are usually the ones who also know how to reduce or eliminate those hazards. 3. A systematic find and fix approach – Be proactive to identify and correct hazards before an accident happens Every year, more than 4,500 workers die as a result of a workplace accident. Another 4.1 million are injured on the job, many of them seriously. When an employee is injured, there are many more costs that simply the medical and lost wage costs that you see paid by your insurance company. There are the costs that you pay in: 1. Taking the employee for treatment 2. Investigating the accident, and your employees stopping to talk about the accident. 3. Training other employees to fill in and/or paying overtime to have them cover additional duties. 4. Repairing or replacing your damaged equipment. 5. Analyzing and taking corrective actions to prevent similar accidents in the future. 6. Following up with the injured employee, insurance company and doctors until the employee is back to work. 7. Increased workers’ compensation insurance costs for years. To read more about the OSHA Safe & Sound Campaign, click here: Don’t become part of the statistic. Become part of the prevention. Implement a workplace safety program, with the help of WCA. We can provide you with everything to get started and the applications for a 2% Workplace Safety Program premium credit. If you have questions, please call us at (561) 500-FLWC (3592). This is one of the extra services provided by Work Comp Associates, Inc.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) today formed an alliance to provide information and training on preventing worker exposure to safety and health hazards in the maintenance, reliability, and physical asset management profession. During the two-year agreement, the alliance will incorporate safety and health information into SMRP’s certification training programs to reduce and prevent exposure to worker hazards including slips, trips, falls, and electric shock. SMRP will also work with OSHA to engage safety and health professionals and their employers in agency outreach initiatives, such as the Safe + Sound Campaign, and the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. Click here to read more:

Public Citizen and 111 other safety and labor groups recently called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to create a federal standard for protecting workers from heat stress, which they say is aggravated by global warming. Whether or not OSHA chooses to respond to this call by proposing a standard some time in the future, it still oblgates employers to develop programs that adhere to OSHA-recommended practices. "OSHA has an obligation to prevent future heat-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities by issuing a heat stress standard for outdoor and indoor workers," the organizations said in a late April letter to Alexander Acosta, secretary of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and Loren Sweatt, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor and chief of OSHA. More than 815 U.S. workers were killed and 70,000 seriously injured by heat stress between 1992 and 2017, the advocates note, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is likely an underestimate, they added, asserting that many injuries and illnesses are under reported in the U.S., especially in the sectors employing vulnerable and often undocumented workers. Click to read more:

These last few months may have been some of the most challenging you have ever faced as an employer. Not only has this pandemic caused financial difficulties for many businesses and individuals, it has also forced us to question the ways in which we take responsibility for the safety of ourselves and others. As the restrictions on business operations begin to lift here in Florida, it is important to consider the steps you can take to make, and keep, your workplace a safe and healthy environment for everyone. The first step you can take to ensure your workplace will stay safe is creating a plan that specifies how your business will deal with infectious disease. The plan you make to limit exposure to COVID-19 will look different for your workplace than for others, based on your industry. This is because every environment and industry has its own particular dangers and risks of exposure. (OSHA has guidelines on where your type of business is rated in terms of hazard.) Most of us are in workplaces that are classified low to medium hazard. This means that we are in work environments where we do not expect to regularly come into contact with people who are knowingly infected with COVID-19. This knowledge will dictate the types of measures you put in place to promote safety. For all employees: For your employees, you want to add to the general public guidelines to: Train workers on the signs and symptoms Setup policies and procedures for employees’ duties to limit potential Covid-19 exposures and provide in writing to employees. Beginning of the day During the shift End of shift End of the day Encourage the importance of staying home if they are sick Take the temperature of each employee when they report for work each day Provide employees with personal protective equipment (PPE) of masks, and gloves. Establish personal cleaning workstations at each location. Report any safety and health concerns For employees on construction projects: On Construction projects, you will want to take further protective actions: Others on the jobsite: As much as possible, limit the number of subcontractors working on the jobsite when your employees are working. Recognize the symptoms of Covid-19 and report any concerns Housekeeping Clean and disinfect portable toilets regularly Disinfect frequently touch items (work truck interiors, door pulls, toilet seats, etc.) regularly. Hygiene Frequently clean hands by either: Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, Use 60%+ alcohol-based hand sanitizer and rub hands until dry Alternatives to shaking hands upon entry Cover coughs and sneezes – into a tissue or their elbow. Setup tasks that allow employees to remain distant Stagger work schedules when able Keep employees 6 feet apart from each other Identify choke points where employees are forced to stand together, such as hallways and elevators Coordinate site deliveries for minimal contact Keep toolbox talks short and limit the number of employees, while using social distancing practices Proper use, limitations, handling, removal, decontamination and disposal of PPE Wear cloth face coverings as able, snugly over nose and mouth Replace as needed, when it becomes wet or soiled Reminder to continue normal safety precautions For employees on manufacturing lines: For those on a manufacturing line, OSHA recommends making modifications to the line to: Change the line so all workers are 6 feet or more apart. Don’t station workers face to face. Setup partitions between workers, where proper separation is not possible. If two workers must be face to face, have a partition with a pass through below face level. Create staggered shifts, when possible Housekeeping Rigorous to reduce dust levels Clean and disinfect restrooms regularly Fill hand sanitizer and soaps regularly Disinfect frequently touch items (door pulls, toilet seats, equipment, etc.) regularly. Hygiene Alternatives to shaking hands upon entry Cover coughs and sneezes – into a tissue or their elbow. Frequently clean hands by either: Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, Use 60%+ alcohol based hand sanitizer and rub hands together until dry Proper use, limitations, handling, removal, decontamination and disposal of PPE Wear cloth face coverings, as able, snugly over nose and mouth Replace as needed, when it becomes wet or soiled Reminder to continue normal safety precautions Additional items to consider: For others lines of business, there are a number of effective recommendations from OSHA, the CDC and the WHO that target workplaces and community areas, and this is where your plan can be the most tailored to your specific industry. Here are some important suggestions to consider: Decide whether you have the available funds to replace your air filtration system with a high efficiency filter. This can help reduce the chance of infection because of the way this virus is known to spread- primarily through respiratory droplets that are released into the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes. Decide whether it is possible to have or keep certain positions working remotely for the time being; the more your workplace is able to observe social distancing protocols, the safer it will be. Employees with positions that must remain at your physical location should be provided with their own space and equipment wherever possible. If employees must share equipment, be sure to have it properly sanitized between each use. Replace physical meetings with remote meetings. There are many great video conferencing options that are available right now. If your workplace is one that has high customer interaction, consider installing protective plastic guards at places with high contact, such as registers. Sick policies: An integral part of your infectious disease plan is mapping out guidelines to handle employee illness. It is important that no employees come to work with any COVID-19 symptoms, especially fever. You should have a plan of action for what to do if an employee develops symptoms at work, including ways to isolate that employee until they are able to leave the workplace. If an employee does develop any symptoms of this illness, the CDC recommends they isolate at home until at least 3 days have passed since the last symptom, or 10 days have passed since the symptoms first appeared. Also, consider whether your sick policy can be made more flexible. If you are able to provide support for your employees in this way, your workplace will stay safer. They may even need to stay home to take care of sick family members at this time. Giving them your support will be beneficial to everyone. For these special circumstances, you may decide it is not necessary to require a doctor’s note to prove an employee has been sick. Remember that it will hurt your business and productivity far more if someone who is sick comes to or stays at work and infects more people than if they miss a few days by staying home in isolation. As we mentioned, OSHA provides guides tailored for specific industries to assist you. Once you have laid out your infectious disease plan, it is vital to communicate this plan effectively and clearly to all employees. If they are clear on the exact steps to take for prevention, your workplace will stay as safe as possible. In large workplaces and those with customer exposure, consider putting up posters on proper hand washing and social distancing techniques. Please visit the links listed below if you have more questions or wish to explore in further depth the suggestions laid out in this article. The measures you take right now will determine the health and safety of your employees and your business as we navigate through this challenging time. OSHA posters: Prevent worker exposure at work: Social distancing at work: General business guidelines: Community Re-Open Guidance Community Gudance Business Response Covid-19 Hazard Recognition: Covid-19 Control / Prvention: Specific industry guidelines: Construction Industry Home Repair: Safety on a manufacturing line: Effective disinfectant guide:

As a reminder, OSHA’s civil penalty amounts for workplace safety and health violations will increase slightly effective tomorrow in accordance with cost-of-living adjustments for 2021. These penalty levels apply to any violations assessed after Jan. 15. OSHA’s maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase from $134,937 to $136,532 per violation. Similarly, the maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations will also increase from $13,494 per violation to $13,653 per violation. Click to read more:

October is National Protect Your Hearing Month, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The NIDCD also developed the Noisy Planet campaign to increase awareness among parents of children ages eight to 12 of noise-induced hearing loss. However, children are not the only ones at risk of hearing loss due to noise exposure. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), approximately 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels each year. Occupational Hearing Loss Workers in the construction, farming, manufacturing, trucking and other industries are exposed to loud noise daily. Hearing loss can occur due to a single incident or it can develop gradually over time. In Pennsylvania, occupational hearing loss is compensable under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. Workers who have more than a ten percent impairment may be entitled to specific loss benefits. Click to read more: