Feds look to crack down on longshoremen’s workers’ comp

• The U.S. Department of Labor proposed revisions for assessing penalties against employers and insurance carriers for the violation of reporting requirements under the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
• The proposed rulemaking focuses on the process used to assess civil penalties against entities that fail to report worker injuries in an accurate and timely manner.
• The LHWCA provides for the payment of compensation, medical care, and vocational rehabilitation services to employees disabled from on-the-job injuries that occur on the navigable waters of the U.S., or in adjoining areas customarily used in the loading, unloading, repairing, or building of a vessel.
• The proposed rule provides that the penalty assessed will increase for each additional violation the employer has committed over the prior two years.
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Federal legislation deals with opioid crisis

• A bill introduced in the House would direct OSHA to create employer guidance on acquiring opioid overdose reversal medication and training workers on its use.
• U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, introduced the Workplace Overdose Reversal Kits to Save Lives Act on Sept. 12. The bill has 16 co-sponsors.
• Under the bill, OSHA would have nine months after the legislation is enacted to publish the nonmandatory guidance.
• Overdose deaths of all types accounted for nearly 9% of workplace injury deaths in 2021, according to the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts.
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Reps meet over substance use disorders, mental health conditions 

• Representatives from the US Department of Labor joined members of the Massachusetts Building Trades Recovery Council at the Ironworkers Local 7 hall in South Boston recently to discuss innovative methods to create supportive work environments.
• The talks were geared toward workers in the trades with substance use disorder and mental health conditions.
• The Council has been a leader in the effort to support recovery efforts by promoting the benefits and programs within each affiliate trade.
• Members of the 62 local unions and district councils in MBTU and the dependents of union members have access to recovery support 24/7.
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A pair of Virginia workers killed

• A city employee was killed by a falling tree at Libby Hill Park in Richmond, Virginia.
• The prior week, another city employee was injured at John B. Cary Elementary School. On Friday, Sept. 8, the employee suffered a major electric shock from a live wire.
• The incident happened the morning after a massive storm had caused damage across the area.
• Investigators are still looking into the deaths.
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