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Safety/Health

Jennie-O Turkey cited for amputation incident

02/09/2012
Willmar-based Jennie-O Turkey Stores faces 11 safety violations after a machine at its Barron, Wisc., slaughterhouse cut off an employee’s arm.

OSHA scratches surface, finds unexpected chicken problems

02/03/2012
Some companies are careless, some are unlucky. Apparently Case Farm Chickens is both. Not only is the company facing $288,000 in fines for 61 OSHA violations, but it experienced an ammonia leak the day OSHA inspectors showed up at its Wineburg facility.

Stay out of court with consistent discipline

02/01/2012
Employers that punish some em­­ployees more leniently than others for breaking the same rule are asking for trouble. That’s especially true when a lesser offense seems to have warranted especially harsh punishment.

You never have to tolerate fights in the workplace

01/27/2012
Violence in the workplace is a harsh reality, but employers must provide a safe work environment. That may mean terminating employees who threaten other employees or get into fights.

UCLA, professor charged in lab tech’s 2009 death

01/20/2012
A laboratory fire that killed a UCLA technician has resulted in felony charges against the university and Pro­­fessor Patrick Harran, who ran the lab.

What should an anti-violence policy include?

01/18/2012
Q. We do not have a workplace violence policy and would like to prepare one. What should we include in the policy?

How should we go about reviewing our violence-prevention program?

01/18/2012
Q. We’re re-examining our workplace violence-­prevention strategies. What guidance is available to employers?

Worker makes threats? That’s a firing offense

01/06/2012

Some employees are simply difficult to manage. They start argu­­ments and may see harassment or discrimination everywhere. But sometimes they cross a line, implying they could get violent. How you handle their complaints can spell the difference between winning and losing a lawsuit.

2012 enforcement trends in employment law: hiring and safety

01/05/2012
We’re now well into the first quarter of the year and already a few trends are becoming apparent in the way the federal government will enforce labor and employment laws in 2012. Two significant em­­phases will be hiring discrimination and workplace safety.

Settlement reached in deaths at Mount Carroll grain elevator

12/21/2011
The operator of a Mount Carroll grain elevator has settled U.S. Department of Labor charges it that broke federal child labor laws when it allowed a 14-year-old to work in a hazardous job that proved fatal.