Articles by Chris Kirkham

OSHA to Review COVID-19 Workplace Safety Enforcement Under Trump

Federal workplace safety regulators said on Friday they will revisit several COVID-19 related safety investigations performed during the Trump administration as part of a wider effort to better protect workers from the pandemic. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration …

Many Firms Aren’t Paying OSHA Fines Levied for COVID-19 Safety Violations: Reuters

U.S. workplace safety regulators have announced more than $4 million in penalties on more than 300 employers they say put workers at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. But about two-thirds of these employers aren’t paying up. Only 108 companies had …

REUTERS REPORT-Regulators Ignored Workers’ COVID-19 Safety Complaints Amid Deadly Outbreaks

Miguel Cabezola, a driver for United Parcel Service Inc. in Tucson, Arizona, complained on March 27 to U.S. workplace safety regulators, alleging the company was taking a lax approach to social distancing, sanitizing equipment and quarantining workers with COVID-19 symptoms. …

Life Care Accused of Retaliation Against Nursing Home Staffers Who Spoke to Reuters

A nursing home owned by Life Care Centers of America Inc. has fired one nurse and banned another from the premises after the two were quoted in a Reuters investigation detailing horrific conditions, a staff exodus and a botched management …

Warehouse Workers Risk COVID-19 Shipping Knick-Knacks, Luxury Goods

As U.S. authorities ordered shutdowns of non-essential businesses to fight coronavirus, retailer Nordstrom Inc. closed hundreds of stores and gave in-store workers three weeks’ pay, calling their safety its top priority. That benefit did not extend to Meagan Christensen, 34, …

39 States Investigating E-Cigarette Maker Juul Over Marketing to Underage Users

A group of 39 state attorneys general on Tuesday announced an investigation into Juul Labs Inc.’s marketing practices, adding to mounting legal and regulatory problems for the e-cigarette maker over its role in the nation’s youth vaping epidemic. The probe, …

State Lawsuit Alleges Juul Advertised Vaping on Teen Websites

E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. bought online advertisements on teen-focused websites for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Seventeen magazine after it launched its product in 2015, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office. The allegations …

Trump Administration Issues Partial E-Cigarette Ban

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a ban on some popular e-cigarette flavors, including fruit and mint, to curb rising teenage use of vaping products, allowing only menthol and tobacco flavors to remain on the market. The ban came under …

U.S. E-Cigarette Regulation Has Been Delayed for Years

As the Federal Drug Administration pressures e-cigarette firms to stamp out youth vaping, the agency faces criticism itself for failing to rein in the fast-growing industry after years of bureaucratic delays dating back to the Obama administration. Despite recent tough …

California Sues E-Cigarette Seller Juul for Targeting Teens with Nicotine Products

The state of California on Monday sued e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc., alleging the San Francisco company engaged in a “systematic” and “wildly successful” campaign to attract teenagers to its nicotine devices. The lawsuit draws on internal correspondence and other …