FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024
Starting Monday (April 22), the U.S. Department of Labor will commemorate Workers Memorial Day by hosting a week-long series of events to educate employers on the importance of safe and healthy workplaces.
The department, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, aims to honor people who didn’t come home at the end of their shift.
According to the DOL, when the nation first observed Workers Memorial Day in 1970, an estimated 38 United States workers suffered fatal on-the-job injuries each day and many more endured debilitating respiratory diseases and other life-altering illnesses related to workplace exposures.
However, work-related injuries in the U.S. today claim about 15 people’s lives a day. In 2022, a reported 5,486 workers suffered fatal injuries, an increase of 296 worker deaths from 2021.
“As we honor our fallen workers on Workers Memorial Day, we must remember that behind each workplace fatality there are loved ones enduring unimaginable grief,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker.
“It is for the lost workers and those left behind that we continue to fight for every worker’s right to a safe working environment. Our mission at OSHA is to ensure that when someone leaves for work, they know they’ll come home safe at the end of the day to the arms of their families and loved ones.”
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Starting Monday (April 22), the U.S. Department of Labor will commemorate Workers Memorial Day by hosting a week-long series of events to educate employers on the importance of safe and healthy workplaces. |
Leading up to Sunday, April 28, the department will host a week-long series of events from April 22-25 to educate employers on the importance of safe and healthy workplaces.
The series will reportedly culminate at an in-person and nationally livestreamed event at its Washington headquarters where OSHA and MSHA leaders will join AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and United Support & Memorial for Workplace Fatalities Board Member Stacy Sebald, whose 19-year-old son Mitchell McDaniel suffered fatal injuries in an agriculture incident in 2019.
“We come together on Workers Memorial Day to remember those we have lost in workplace accidents and to prevent work-related illnesses,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson.
“At MSHA, we know a safe workplace isn’t a privilege – it’s every miner’s right. It is in the memory of fallen workers that we continue to advocate for each miner’s safety, health and dignity.”
Local Workers Memorial Day events can be found here, and the April 25 livestream can be viewed here.
2023 Top 10 Violation List
At the beginning of December, OSHA unveiled its annual top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2023.
The preliminary data was presented by OSHA Region 6 Administrator Eric Harbin during the 2023 National Safety Council 2023 Safety Congress and Expo. The fiscal year ended on Sept. 30.
Fall Protection – General Requirements remains at the top of the list for the 13th year in a row, followed by Hazard Communication and Ladders once again.
The Top 10 most frequently cited standards for FY 2023 are:
A more detailed analysis of the Top 10 violations for 2023 was published in Safety+Health magazine, a National Safety Council publication.
Tagged categories: Accidents; Department of Labor; Fatalities; Good Technical Practice; Government; Health & Safety; Health and safety; Labor; OSHA; OSHA; Program/Project Management; Safety; Workers
