New Solut

Farmworkers have the potential to receive wages that fail to meet minimum wage standards. This analysis describes wages and minimum wage violations among farmworkers, and it determines associations of wage violations with personal characteristics and pesticide safety regulation violations. Data are from a cross-sectional survey of 300 eastern North Carolina farmworkers conducted in June through August, 2009. Most farmworkers (90.0%) were paid by the hour, but 11.7 percent received piece-rate pay. Wage violations were prevalent among farmworkers: 18.3 percent of all farmworkers, 45.3 percent of farmworkers without H-2A visas, and 3.6 percent of farmworkers with H-2A visas experienced wage violations. Most farmworkers experienced numerous pesticide safety violations. Personal characteristics were not associated with wage violations among farmworkers without H-2A visas, but some pesticide safety violations were associated with wage violations. The association of violations indicates that some growers generally violate regulations. Greater enforcement of all regulations is needed.20112012-03-01T00:00:00ZU50 OH007542/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United StatesR01 ES008739-13/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesR01 ES008739/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesR01ES008739/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesU50OH007542-09/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States21733804PMC3291018674

New Solut

The United States is experiencing an evolving and worsening drug overdose epidemic. Although the rate of drug use among workers has remained relatively stable, the risk of overdose and death among drug users has not, as illicit drugs have increased in potency and lethality. The cumulative impacts of COVID-19 and the opioid crisis increase the likelihood of illness and death among workers with opioid use disorder. Workplaces represent a critical point of contact for people living in the United States who are struggling with or recovering from a substance use disorder, and employment is a vital source of recovery "capital." The benefits of addressing substance use in the workplace, supporting treatment, and employing workers in recovery are evident. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has published research to inform policy and practice toward prevention efforts and has developed accessible resources and toolkits to support workers, employers, and workplaces in combatting the opioid overdose crisis and creating safer, healthier communities.CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States

New Solut

Leading-indicator-based (e.g., hazard recognition) incentive programs provide an alternative to controversial lagging-indicator-based (e.g., injury rates) programs. We designed a leading-indicator-based safety communication and recognition program that incentivized safe working conditions. The program was piloted for two months on a commercial construction worksite and then redesigned using qualitative interview and focus group data from management and workers. We then ran the redesigned program for six months on the same worksite. Foremen received detailed weekly feedback from safety inspections, and posters displayed worksite and subcontractor safety scores. In the final program design, the whole site, not individual subcontractors, was the unit of analysis and recognition. This received high levels of acceptance from workers, who noted increased levels of site unity and team-building. This pilot program showed that construction workers value solidarity with others on site, demonstrating the importance of health and safety programs that engage all workers through a reliable and consistent communication infrastructure.20152017-06-16T00:00:00ZT42 OH008416/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United StatesU60 OH009762/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United StatesT32 AR055885/AR/NIAMS NIH HHS/United StatesU60OH009762/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United StatesT42OH008416/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States25815741PMC5473609vault:2358

New Solut

The term "ag-gag" refers to state laws that intentionally limit public access to information about agricultural production practices, particularly livestock production. Originally created in the 1990s, these laws have recently experienced a resurgence in state legislatures. We discuss the recent history of ag-gag laws in the United States and question whether such ag-gag laws create a "chilling effect" on reporting and investigation of occupational health, community health, and food safety concerns related to industrial food animal production. We conclude with a discussion of the role of environmental and occupational health professionals to encourage critical evaluation of how ag-gag laws might influence the health, safety, and interests of day-to-day agricultural laborers and the public living proximal to industrial food animal production.R01 AI130066/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United StatesR01 ES026973/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United StatesT42 OH008428/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States2020-05-01T00:00:00Z30451569PMC7195182763

New Solut

This commentary responds to the recent critique by Weinstock and Slatin [1] of our systematic review on the effectiveness of occupational safety and health (OSH) training conducted jointly by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Canada and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the United States [2, 3]. We address misunderstandings of our perspectives on training, especially empowerment training, and the evaluation of such training.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2015-10-28T00:00:00Z23896069PMC462357

New Solut

Spanish-speaking immigrant workers in construction are considered hard to reach and at high risk for work-related injury and fatality. This evaluation study describes the use of participatory methods and an evaluation checklist to consider a health and safety (H&S) training program for these workers. A previously developed training manual and model were disseminated to eight worker centers (WCs) through participatory research collaboration. It incorporated H&S training for workers while strengthening the role of WCs as sources for leadership development and worker empowerment. Design, delivery, reaction, application, and extension were assessed through individual interviews with participants, trained trainers, and center staff and through observation of training sessions and partner debriefs; pre- and post-training tests assessed participant learning. Results indicate moderate learning and application by participants and strong evidence for structural gains in and among WCs. We conclude that such partnerships and models are valuable tools for collaborating with hard-to-reach workers.R18 OH009574/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/5R18OH009574/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/2022-05-10T00:00:00Z24704811PMC90886081148

New Solut

Pneumatic nail guns are ubiquitous at residential construction sites across the United States. These tools are noted for the traumatic injuries that can occur from their operation. Different trigger mechanisms on these tools are associated with different levels of risk. Residential building subcontractors and workers, both native-born and immigrant, were brought together in focus groups to discuss their attitudes and beliefs regarding risk factors for nail gun injury as well as barriers to the adoption of safer technology. Participants' comments are organized first by influences on traumatic injury occurrence or prevention and later by sociotechnical system category. Participants attributed influences on injury risk to personal and external causation factors in all sociotechnical system categories; however, participants more frequently described influences on injury prevention as related to workers' behaviors, rather than to external factors. A discussion of these influences with respect to attribution theory and sociotechnical models of injury causation is presented.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2015-11-20T00:00:00Z24704813PMC465372

New Solut

The Joint Commission provides accreditation standards for staging hospital waste, but there are no federal lifting safety standards for linen bags. We evaluated hospital laundry bag lifting using the Revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Lifting Equation. We hypothesized that the permitted 32-gallon linen container capacity might allow filling to weights above our calculated Recommended Weight Limit (RWL) for some lifting positions and contents. We found that 30- and 40-gallon bags filled with loose dry linen had predicted weights within estimated RWLs only for lifts close to the body. Thirty- and 40-gallon bags filled more than halfway with dry compact linen had predicted weights above estimated RWLs for all lifting positions. Thirty- and 40-gallon bags filled with wet compact linen exceeded estimated RWLs for all positions when less than one-quarter full. Bag volume and filling controls may be considered to ensure linen bags are not excessively heavy.T42 OH008416/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/K24 AR057827/AR/NIAMS NIH HHSUnited States/P60 AR047782/AR/NIAMS NIH HHSUnited States/T32 AR055885/AR/NIAMS NIH HHSUnited States/T42OH008416/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States

New Solut

The substandard nature of the housing in which most farmworkers live has detrimental effects on their health, as well as on their children's health and development. However, little research has directly documented associations between farmworker housing and health; existing research is not always comparable due to differences in design and measurement. Comparative data can help determine actual causal links between housing characteristics and farmworker health and help to evaluate the efficacy of current housing policy. The goal of this paper is to provide guidelines promoting comparable research on farmworker housing and the association of this housing with health. This paper reviews general concepts relevant to measuring farmworker housing and health, issues that should be considered in designing farmworker housing and health research, data collection methods, and measures. It concludes with recommendations for a research agenda on farmworker housing and health.R01 OH009550/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U50 OH007547/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/OH 007547/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ESO23709/PHS HHSUnited States/U54 OH007541/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U54OH009550/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/R13 ES023709/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/ES 023709/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/OH 009550/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U54 OH007547/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U54 OH07541/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/OH 07541/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/2022-05-16T00:00:00Z26315035PMC91092631148

New Solut

Migrant and seasonal farmworkers often reside in poor housing conditions which expose them to numerous hazards. These housing conditions are an issue of environmental health and justice. The photographs in this essay illustrate the living conditions confronted by farmworkers, offering a visual context for the reviews published in this issue of New Solutions. Farmworker housing conditions are often shocking to those who have not visited farmworker communities. Continued research is needed to document these conditions, how they affect the health of farmworkers, and provide leverage in the struggle to improve farmworker housing conditions.R01 OH009550/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U54 OH007541/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U54OH009550/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/R13 ES023709/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/U54 OH007547/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U54 OH07541/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/2022-05-12T00:00:00Z26378153PMC90966031134