Latest news with #workerprotection
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Virginia advocates, officials push for worker protections from heat
Virginia advocates push for protections for laborers in hot temperatures. (Shannon Heckt/Virginia Mercury) With summer officially kicking off on Friday, elected officials and worker advocates are pushing for more state legislation aimed to support people who have to work outside in the hot temperatures. When a person's body can't bring their internal temperature down in these warm climates, it can lead to heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths and can exacerbate underlying illnesses including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, and asthma, and can increase the risk of accidents and transmission of some infectious diseases, according to the World Health Organization. 'This is an urgent issue because this affects mainly low wage workers who often don't have a choice but to go to work … under these extreme heat conditions to be able to make a living,' said Ramón Zepeda Ramos, Economic Justice Organizer of Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. Currently, there are no federal rules or statewide regulations of when outside workers should be allowed breaks or access to shade and water when temperatures rise. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is beginning public hearings about a rule proposed by former President Joe Biden's administration that would trigger shade and water access requirements when the heat index reaches 80 degrees. Additionally, it would require 15 minute breaks every two hours when the heat index reaches 90 degrees. Advocates said even with the OSHA hearing starting this week, the state needs to take action because OSHA can often take years to implement a rule and there is no clear idea if the current administration would implement such a rule. Also, with federal cuts likely to impact the agency, advocates feel it will be unlikely the rule will be put into effect even if it is passed. 'We can't keep waiting for federal action that may never come. Every worker deserves dignity of safety, access to water, rest, and shade. Also the ability to speak up without fear,' said Manuel Gago, Worker Justice Program Director at the Legal Aid Justice Center. According to the Virginia Department of Health, since May 1 of this year, over 400 people have been treated for heat-related illness. Heat impacts can often be difficult to identify so it is likely the true scope of patients with heat-related illnesses is underreported. Two bills were introduced in the 2025 General Assembly session that looked to provide relief to workers who have to be exposed to the elements. House Bill 1980 and Senate Bill 1103, sponsored by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, and Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk, would have allowed workers impacted by the heat to collect damages of $1000, injunctive relief or both. Both bills were left in the Senate Finance Committee. 'It is a simple strategy that has worked for thousands of years across all of nature,' Hernandez said in a statement. 'Our approach to protecting workers is a novel, data driven approach that examines where workers in Virginia are facing the most risk and tailoring the rules to address those areas.' The New York Times reported that in a Congressional hearing this week, opponents to the new rule claimed it could cause financial havoc on businesses and communities. Seven states have adopted their own heat protection rules for indoor and outdoor workers. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Efforts to pass worker's bill of rights, $20 minimum wage in Tacoma advance
Organizers with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union 367 chapter and the Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America on Tuesday submitted signatures for a ballot initiative that could establish a 'Worker's Bill of Rights.' The two groups started the process of getting the initiative on the ballot in February, when they submitted a proposal to increase protections for workers in Tacoma with new policies like a $20 minimum wage. In submitting the roughly 10,000 signatures at city hall on June 24, UFCW 367 and the Tacoma DSA are one step closer in the city's initiative process. After submitting the draft of their initiative in February, the organizers had about six months to collect valid signatures from at least 10 percent of people who voted in the last mayoral election. They told The News Tribune in March that they planned to have at least 8,000 by early July. It's now up to the county auditor to verify the signatures, and the city clerk to validate the petition. As long as that happens, it would be up to the city council to enact or reject the initiative, according to the city. If the council enacts the petition, their approval would be the final say, eliminating the need to put the initiative to the voters. If council rejects the initiative, then it would be on the ballot. According to the city, if the council rejects the initiative or fails to take action within 30 days, the initiative would end up on the ballot for the next municipal or general election that's at least 90 days from when the signatures are validated — which organizers estimate could take 30 days. That means there's a possibility it could end up on the November ballot, or it could be part of a special election that happens sooner. If a majority of voters approve the initiative, it'll go into effect 10 days after the election results are certified. 'It's been much easier than we thought to get people to sign on to this,' union president Michael Hines told The News Tribune. The organizers put forward two versions of the initiative in February, which are largely similar but Version 2 has stronger penalties for violations of the bill of rights and stronger language outlining worker protections for fair scheduling and hours. Colton Rose, an organizer with the union, told The News Tribune that after hearing from residents through the process of getting signatures, the union decided to pursue Version 1 — the one with more lenient penalties. The Worker's Bill of Rights would require every employer in Tacoma with more than 500 employees to pay their staff at least $20 an hour, and any employer with between 16 and 500 employees must pay their staff at least $18 an hour. That rate drops to $17 an hour for employers with 15 or fewer employees. Minimum wage in the state of Washington is currently $16.66 per hour, which also currently applies to Tacoma. Cities like Seattle and Bellingham have different rates, at $20.76 per hour and $18.66 per hour, respectively. It also, among other things, would require employers to create a safety plan to protect workers and consumers in case of violence or a natural disaster, and would require them to give employees an estimate of their work schedules at least 14 days in advance. As city and county officials work to validate the signatures, a process that could take 30 days, Rose said organizers are still in the process of collecting more signatures in case they fall short of the number of signatures required. Hines said organizers are optimistic that the initiative will receive the support it needs from voters. 'I remember the days when you could be a single mom and a checker and pay your rent or buy a house, and that's pretty hard to do now based on what these companies are doing with the schedules,' Hines said. 'I think there's a lot of empathy from the community.'
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Fair Work inspectors report rampant workplace breaches in prime horticulture zones
More than 80 per cent of horticulture businesses in Victoria's biggest growing regions were in breach of laws to protect workers, inspectors have found, after a nationwide crackdown on the sector. In a three-year investigation, Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) inspectors also found widespread breaches in prime horticulture areas in NSW. The report, released on Wednesday, singled out labour hire firms as the worst offenders, despite states increasingly regulating the sector. It says Victoria's Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley regions had the highest rate of overall non-compliance, with inspectors finding 83 per cent of employers failed to meet obligations under the Fair Work Act. The next-worst breach rates were in NSW's Riverina (72 per cent), Victoria's Sunraysia and Shepparton regions (70 per cent and 63 per cent respectively), and Coffs Harbour and Grafton in NSW (61 per cent). Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said inspectors visited 360 farms, investigated 512 businesses during crop seasons and issued $760,405 in fines to employers who failed to meet their pay slip and record-keeping obligations. She also said labour hire firms used by farmers were most resistant to workplace laws, with 91 per cent of 166 infringement notices going to labour providers. "The vast majority of the wrongdoers are labour hire employers and they are often quite difficult to pin down," Ms Booth said. "The workers themselves often don't know who their employer is and [they are] just generally being treated very badly. "This is particularly troubling because many of these workers are migrants. They are often temporary visa holders." However, there were some positive signs from the three-year campaign. Queensland's Wide Bay and Moreton Bay were the nation's most compliant, with only 18 per cent and 8 per cent failing to follow the law, which was a turnaround from recent years. Ms Booth said most farmers in these areas directly employed staff rather than using labour hire, and regulator Queensland Labour Hire Licensing Compliance Unit was also in place, plus there had been leadership from employer groups via the Fair Farms programs, which audits businesses. Fair Farms, which runs training and certification and help growers improve their workplace compliance, was set up by farmer group Growcom with support from the Fair Work Ombudsman, the federal Department of Agriculture and horticulture group AUSVEG. Victoria also has a Labour Hire Authority and labour hire licensing schemes exist in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, which works with these agencies to stamp out lawbreakers. Ms Booth also said in January the FWO signed an enforceable undertaking with RJ Cornish & Co Pty Ltd, a fruit grower in Victoria's Goulburn Valley, following unlawful wage deductions of nearly $127,000 from 112 employees. The company was inspected in March last year as part of the regulator's horticulture strategy. The horticulture strategy also included more than 96 joint site inspections with other regulators, including Australian Border Force, Australian Taxation Office and WorkCover Queensland.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US court says worker's COVID safety concerns covered by labor law
June 23 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday agreed with the National Labor Relations Board that a Pennsylvania factory worker's critical comments about the plant remaining open in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were protected by federal labor law. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims by Miller Plastic Products that the worker, Ronald Vincer, was not acting for the benefit of other employees when he made the comments at a 2020 meeting. "Vincer's statements and conduct reveal a belief that shutting down the facility, or alternatively implementing more stringent quarantine protocols if it remained open, was necessary to ensure employee safety. Thus, he raised concerns to improve conditions of employment," Circuit Judge Theodore McKee wrote. But the court said the NLRB, which in 2023 used the case to expand the type of worker conduct that it considers concerted activity and thus protected by federal labor law, must reconsider whether Miller fired Vincer about a week after the meeting because of his comments or for other, legitimate reasons. The five-member NLRB already had two vacancies when President Donald Trump took office in January and now lacks a quorum to decide cases after Trump fired Democratic Member Gwynne Wilcox, who is challenging her removal. An NLRB spokesman and lawyers for Miller and Vincer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Miller claimed that Vincer was fired for performance issues and not because of his comments about keeping the plant open. But the company had also argued that Vincer's comments were not protected by the National Labor Relations Act because he was expressing concerns about his personal safety and not advocating on behalf of his coworkers. The board disagreed and also said that the test that a Republican majority had adopted in the 2019 case Alstate Maintenance to determine when conduct is concerted was flawed. That ruling said raising concerns in a group setting is not necessarily protected activity, and required workers to show evidence of prior group discussions on a topic to prove their conduct was protected. The board said that instead, it would consider the "totality of the circumstances" on a case-by-case basis to determine whether a worker had engaged in concerted activity. Miller appealed, arguing that it was unreasonable for the board to overturn the Alstate decision and that under that standard, Vincer's comments were not protected. The 3rd Circuit disagreed on both counts on Monday. McKee, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, wrote that the standard announced by the board was not entirely new and was instead a refinement of a series of rulings released since the 1980s. But the board did not adequately explain why it concluded that Vincer's termination resulted directly from his comments at the meeting, the panel found. McKee said the board should take another look at that claim while considering the credibility of workers who testified and the fact that three other employees were fired around the same time as Vincer. The panel included Circuit Judges D. Brooks Smith, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, and Luis Restrepo, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama. The case is NLRB v. Miller Plastic Products, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-2689. For Miller: Robert Bracken of Bracken Law Firm For the NLRB: Jared Cantor Read more: NLRB restores broader test for determining when labor law protects workers US judges question NLRB's broad protections for worker conduct US Supreme Court lets Trump keep labor board members sidelined for now
Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Times
Businesses call for action on abuse of public-facing staff
Business leaders are urging the government to broaden legislative action to protect all public-facing workers amid soaring levels of violence and abuse. Some 42 per cent of workers in pubs, restaurants, hotels and transport said they experienced some form of abuse between October and March, a year-on-year increase of 19 per cent, according to the new figures from the Institute of Customer Service. An all-party parliamentary group, which works alongside the industry group UK Hospitality, whose members include retailers, hospitality groups, call centres and transport companies, has been tracking customer service across all sectors over the past five years. • Extra costs holding back hospitality sector, says Whitbread boss Over a third, or 37 per cent, of the 1,050 respondents to the organisation's latest survey said they had considered leaving their role because of incidents which include racial abuse and sexual harassment, while over a quarter said they had taken sick leave after such incidents. One in five workers said they had been threatened with violence, the highest level that the group had recorded. Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said the research showed how 'frontline workers are facing unacceptable levels of assault and abuse from some customers'. Common assault is already an offence and the previous Conservative government had originally rejected calls to create a separate offence specifically linked to shopworkers, arguing it did not think it was 'required or will be most effective'. However, the retail industry argued that incidents were rising and Rishi Sunak's government reversed its position, although its plan to introduce a new offence was abandoned when parliament was dissolved for the general election. • Shops 'at breaking point' as thefts and abuse rocket While there has been a crackdown on retail crime, with a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales set to be introduced as part of the government's Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through parliament, businesses are calling for the bill to be amended to include all those working in public-facing roles. In a letter to the government, 76 businesses said that current legislation provided 'only a partial solution to an endemic and preventable issue'. The signatories of the letter include Sky, Hays Travel, Wickes, Virgin Media 02, United Utilities and DPD. 'These professionals form the bedrock to our society and our economy,' the letter said. Causon added: 'Introducing appropriate protection for customer-facing workers is not only the right thing to do on a societal level, it is critical the UK's business performance isn't impacted by workers up and down the country taking time off sick or thinking about leaving their jobs altogether.'
