Workplace Safety & Health

Three Department of Labor (DOL) agencies have responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the laws enacted to protect safety and health of workers in America.

People Are Asking

What is the current status of COBRA premium reductions under ARRA?

When is overtime due?

When must breaks and meal periods be given?

How are vacation pay, sick pay, and holiday pay computed and when are they due?

What is the minimum wage?

If an employee suffers an illness and the doctor writes a medical certification that the employee is sick, who pays for this sick leave?

What is ERISA?

Airport Pat-Downs Often Ineffective Security Stop

With all the screening technology at U.S. airports, the last line of defense is still the human hand: the pat-down search.

But aviation experts say the pat-down is often ineffective, in part because of government rules covering where screeners can put their hands and how frequently they can frisk passengers. As a result, even if the man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. jetliner on Christmas Day got an airport pat-down, it probably wouldn't have found the explosives authorities say were hidden in his crotch.

TSA Nominee Under Fire

By Philip Rucker and Robert O'Harrow Jr.Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 2, 2010

Democratic senators rallied around President Obama's pick to head the Transportation Security Administration on Friday as new details emerged indicating that key lawmakers already knew when they voted in November to advance his nomination that he had mischaracterized a personal incident in his testimony.

The White House rushed to defend Erroll Southers, who is under fire for providing inconsistent statements to Congress about inappropriately accessing confidential criminal records 20 years ago about his then-estranged wife's new boyfriend. Democratic senators, meanwhile, intensified pressure to confirm Southers soon after Congress returns from its winter recess, saying it is critical that permanent leadership is installed at the TSA in the aftermath of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner.

13 State AGs Threaten Suit over Health Care Deal

COLUMBIA, S.C., Dec. 31, 2009 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- Republican attorneys general in 13 states say congressional leaders must remove Nebraska's political deal from the federal health care reform bill or face legal action, according to a letter provided to The Associated Press Wednesday.

"We believe this provision is constitutionally flawed," South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and the 12 other attorneys general wrote in the letter to be sent Wednesday night to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

EBSA - COBRA Premium Reduction Extension

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), as amended on December 19, 2009 by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (2010 DOD Act) provides for premium reductions for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly called COBRA. Eligible individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. To qualify, individuals must experience a COBRA qualifying event that is the involuntary termination of a covered employee's employment. The involuntary termination must occur during the period that began September 1, 2008 and ends on February 28, 2010. The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage that began on or after February 17, 2009 and lasts for up to 15 months.

Update - Links

New links have been added for IATA (International Air Transport Association) under the Airline Industry News link and for CRA (Civil Rights Act, 1964) under the U.S. Government link.

Pilots Union Faults Feds for Lack of Terror Alert

DALLAS (AP) -- The pilots union at American Airlines says federal officials failed to notify crews on planes in the United States about the attempted terror attack aboard a Northwest jet on Christmas Day.

The Allied Pilots Association said Wednesday it would lobby Congress to require that federal officials notify all flights in the air -- no matter where the flights started -- as soon as they learn of a possible attack on another plane.

Delta Formally Takes Over Northwest

Delta Air Lines Inc. has received government permission to operate its namesake service and its Northwest Airlines subsidiary as a single carrier, a Delta executive said Thursday.

The single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration allows Delta to put its code on Northwest flights and phase out the Northwest name.
That process will be complete in the first quarter of 2010. For now, travelers won’t notice anything different.

Janitors on Delta, United Planes End Boston Strike

BOSTON (AP) -- Janitors who clean Delta and United airlines planes at Boston's Logan International Airport have ended their 24-hour strike.

The more than 100 Aramark Corp. employees clean toilets and remove trash from planes parked overnight. They say many have received wages of between $8 and $9 an hour with few or no benefits.