Pandemic has prompted ongoing mental health issues
- A new report by the National Safety Council report found that 50% of large employers — those with 250 or more employees— had an increase in mental health absences and incidents during the pandemic.
- NSC findings showed one in four employers with an employee assistance program implemented that program for the first time, and two-thirds expanded their offerings during the pandemic.
- Companies should support the mental health and well-being of workers through the pandemic and beyond. Consider resources such as the NIOSH Total Worker Health Workbook.
- They should also re-evaluate control measures for infectious disease protection to future-proof their workplace for new, more contagious variants and future disease outbreaks.
Safety plan approved for Massachusetts
- OSHA approved Massachusetts’ plan for a state-run safety and health plan for state and local government workers.
- The plan covers an estimated 430,000 state and local government employees only. Private sector and federal government employees in the state remain under federal OSHA jurisdiction.
- Massachusetts joins Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and the Virgin Islands where administrators maintain programs to protect state and local government workers.
- There are 22 states and territories with full state plans that also cover state and local government workers in their states.
Porch collapse injures worker
- A Boston worker needed to be extricated from rubble after a porch collapse in Boston.
- The worker was pinned to the ground and a passerby called 911 after hearing him yell.
- The worker was on the second floor when three porches in the back of the house came crashing down.
- He was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Hartford expands Yale partnership
- The Hartford is extending a partnership with Yale School of Medicine to combat the opioid crisis.
- The plan is focused on providing newly developed training on addiction, pain management and stigma to medical providers who treat injured workers.
- The Hartford provided $200,000 to Yale Medicine — one of the country’s largest providers of workers’ compensation and disability insurance.
- The fund will support the delivery of the training to more medical professionals.