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North Carolina’s required Workers’ Compensation Notice Form 17 (English version) has been updated. Specifically, in reference to assistance with Safety Education Training, the phrase “at no cost” has been removed from the notice. The notice revision date was also updated. This change was made because Safety Education Training is no longer available free of charge. Read more

The Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards in Fiscal Year 2010 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released the top 10 most frequently cited standards in the fiscal year 2010, October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010. The list is as follows: Scaffolding, general requirements (Construction) Fall protection (Construction) Hazard communication standard (General Industry) Read more

California State-OSHA Plan First to Have Diacetyl Standard Cal/OSHA has implemented a new standard to further protect workers in the state. The Diacetyl Standard, the first of its kind, requires employers covered by the standard to take special precautions to ensure worker safety. Employers are required to do the following: Create a regulated area for Read more

New York Employees, Contractors and Subcontractors are Covered by the Construction Industry Fair Play Act It is against the law for New York employers to misclassify employees as independent contractors or pay employees off-the-books under the new Construction Industry Fair Play Act. Studies were conducted showing that approximately 15 to 25 percent of construction workers Read more

Domestic Workers and Their Employers Have Rights and Responsibilities Under the New York Labor Law The New York Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights represents progressive landmark legislation. It affords specified domestic workers in New York fundamental labor law protections that were previously only granted to other employees. In signing the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Read more

West Virginia Workers are Now Eligible for Unemployment Compensation using Alternative Base Period Wages West Virginia’s Unemployment Benefits poster has been updated as a result of legislation passed in May, 2009 (WV SB 246) which amended West Virginia’s Unemployment Compensation Law. The terms “alternative base period” and “alternative base period wages’” were added to the Read more

Break Time for Nursing Mothers: A Fact Sheet for Employers On July 25, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a fact sheet addressing a recently enacted requirement – found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – that employers provide reasonable break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk. The Read more

New 2011 Washington, D.C. Mandatory Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act Official Notice The District of Columbia has released the long-awaited mandatory-to-post Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 (ASSLA) Official Notice. The ASSLA requires employers in the District of Columbia to provide paid leave to employees for illness and for absences associated with Read more

Raising Awareness About Indoor Heat Illness is a Year-round Concern Raising awareness about the causes, consequences and prevention of heat illness in indoor working environments, particularly during the hot summer months, can have a significant impact in reducing the number of heat-related illnesses in the workplace. However, indoor heat illness in high risk environments is Read more

Colorado’s minimum wage projected to increase for 2011 Colorado’s Department of Labor & Employment, Division of Labor, has announced the state’s proposed 2011 minimum wage increase of 12 cents per hour, effective January 1, 2011. The proposed minimum wage rate for non-tipped employees is $7.36 per hour. For tipped employees, the minimum wage will increase Read more