Vigilant Blog

A tragedy at a DuPont facility in Texas highlights the importance of training employees on when and how to come to the aid of coworkers, and the need to create safety procedures for known hazards before they become a life-threatening problem. In November 2014, a DuPont employee collapsed when a noxious gas was inadvertently released…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued a number of interpretation letters clarifying the updated recordkeeping and reporting rules that went into effect on January 1, 2015. The letters provide the following guidance: An injury sustained in an accident that occurs while an employee is commuting between home and work in a company…

As we previously reported, January 1, 2015, is the effective date for new rules requiring OSHA-covered employers to notify the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye within 24 hours of learning of a work-related injury. Fatalities must still be reported within 8 hours. Employers will…

Due to member demand, we are offering a December VLA Safety session beginning on 12/4/2014. If you have interest in one of the few remaining seats please contact us as soon as possible. Vigilant Leadership Advantage (VLA) advances the leadership skills, knowledge and expertise of your safety leaders through group learning and on-the-job experience. This…

A commercial truck driver who was fired after raising safety concerns and inaccurately reporting a mechanic’s assessment of his truck can take his case to trial, ruled the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The driver refused to drive a semi-dump truck whose tail pan was caked in asphalt, and complained that another truck’s steering…

Numerous employers would have to report their workplace injury and illness data, which would then be publicly posted on a government website, under a proposal from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The proposal would require reports from two different categories of employers: Employers with 250 or more employees would have to transmit workplace…

These days people are so coupled to their mobile phones that it’s like a bodily appendage. People obsessively check and interact with devices everywhere, even at inappropriate times and events. You may think you’re an excellent multi-tasker, but cognitive research shows that perception is off-base. At work, the problem isn’t limited to loss of production…

If you are a large employer subject to the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s employer shared responsibility mandate for health care coverage, you must provide to all full-time employees and their dependents, “minimum essential coverage” that is “affordable” and provides “minimum value” or else pay penalties to the IRS. Do you know what kind of…

On February 1, 2013, you must post your OSHA Form 300A summary in a conspicuous place in your workplace, and keep it posted through the end of April. This annual summary shows the total number of 2012 job-related injuries and illnesses that you logged on the OSHA Form 300 log. Here’s a quick brush-up on…