The general contractor for the construction of the Merrimack Premium Outlets shopping mall in Merrimack, N.H., has been accused of violating workplace safety standards. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the contractor, as well as nine other subcontractors, underwent a programmed inspection by OSHA’s…
According to recent study of health survey data, private sector employees with paid sick leave are less likely to be hurt on the job. The research, which was conducted by the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Washington, D.C., found that these workers were “28% less likely…
Interstate Electrical Services, a North Billerica electrical contractor, has been cited by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for “willful and serious violations” relating to a November 2011 blast at an Andover jobsite. Reportedly, OSHA’s Andover Area Office determined that an electrical panel was not effectively guarded…
State fire authorities have suspended the license of a fireworks company that left behind unexploded shells near the launching sites for several of their shows. On July 6, city workers mowing lawns in three separate Massachusetts towns ran over the undetonated fireworks, causing them to detonate under the workers’ lawnmowers.…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently produced a report on workplace fatalities, and the figures are somewhat encouraging. According to the most recent data, which comprises deaths recorded in 2010, the workplace is actually becoming safer for many Americans. The Bureau reports that there were 4,547 fatal occupational injuries,…
The adhesives manufacturer Bostik Inc. has agreed to pay $600,000 in fines as a result of workplace safety citations stemming from a March 2011 explosion at its Boston Road plant in West Peabody, MA. Investigators from the Department of Labor reported that the accident, which was the result of a…
Under current Massachusetts law, the failure of a business owner to purchase workers’ compensation for their employees is considered a misdemeanor-which carries a fine of up to $1500 or a year in prison. However, some believe the penalty is too light and hope to raise the penalty. According to reports,…
In a recent decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Court found that workers’ compensation disability benefits could, in some cases, be calculated based on the worker’s current weekly earnings at his most recent job-even if that job is not in Massachusetts. The controlling precedent for the lower court’s decision in this case…
Real “employee” versus “independent contractor.” How much difference does it make? The answer is that it can mean a great deal, as Massachusetts employers keenly recognize in seeking to classify more workers as independent contractors rather than employees these days, in an effort to limit their own responsibilities. Regular employees…
According to reports, workers’ compensation rates in Massachusetts may significantly increase in September, if the state approves a proposed increase. The Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts (WCRIBMA)-a non-profit organization licensed by the MA Division of Insurance that represents companies that write workers’ comp policies- asked the state…