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Safety/Health

OSHA cites Austin linen firm, proposes $149,100 in fines

10/06/2008

OSHA announced in August that it proposed a fine of $149,100 against an Austin linen company for violating federal workplace safety rules. It cited Texas Linen Co. for one willful violation—failing to provide employees with a hepatitis B vaccination within 10 days of being assigned to handle soiled health-care linens …

No liability if psych patient cleared to work

10/03/2008

Employers must reinstate employees following FMLA leave if a doctor says they are ready to return to work without restrictions. That’s true even if the serious health condition was a serious psychiatric problem. Fortunately, if the employee goes on to injure another employee, the medical release will protect the employer from negligent supervision claims …

Gov’t employees must use workers’ comp — not courts — to handle injury cases

10/03/2008

Good news for public employers: The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified that government employees cannot do an end-run around the workers’ comp system by trying to call their injuries a Constitutional deprivation of due process and suing in federal court …

Employees climb mountains to improve their health

10/03/2008

Employees of Lincoln Industries will climb any mountain to improve their health. Seventy-four employees of the Lincoln, Neb.-based, steel-finishing firm climbed a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado as part of the firm’s wellness program.

The cure for workers’ comp fraud: daily injury logs

10/01/2008

Employees who hurt themselves at work sometimes wait weeks or even months before filing a workers’ compensation claim. What at first seems like a relatively harmless injury can flare into a debilitating condition months later. Such late claims put business owners at a serious disadvantage.

REDA provides whistle-blower protection during some internal investigations, too

09/26/2008

Until recently, it was unclear whether reporting unsafe or illegal working conditions to an internal auditor or another responsible party was “protected activity” under the North Carolina Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA). Now a federal court has decided that REDA may cover internal reports …

Wellness meets the holiday office party

09/25/2008

People traditionally pack on extra pounds during the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas string of holiday parties and office functions. Here’s one key rule for holiday partygoers.

State probes purchase of phony diplomas and degrees

09/24/2008

Attorney General Tom Corbett is investigating more than 135 Pennsylvania residents who allegedly bought diplomas from a business in Spokane, Wash., that sold high school diplomas and college degrees under the name Saint Regis University …

Trouble in the air: The legal ailments of sick-building syndrome

09/24/2008

Although it may seem like the far-fetched excuse of an employee hoping to take a few days off from work, a condition known as “sick building syndrome” (SBS) is real. Some employees suffering from SBS have brought claims under the ADA. Others have sought recovery under state workers’ compensation laws …

How should we respond to employee’s fear she’s being stalked?

09/24/2008

Q. One of our female employees says her ex-boyfriend is stalking her. She hasn’t been able to get a restraining order against him. We’re worried that he may show up and harm her or other workers. Can we fire or suspend her? …