Safety Tag

The FDA is warning consumers to refrain from using more than 150 sanitizers.

Hand hygiene is an important response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends washing hands with soap and water. If those aren’t available, using a hand sanitizer can help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers that some hand sanitizers are dangerous to use. The FDA’s first warning was issued in June 2020 after the agency discovered nine brands of hand sanitizer that contained methanol, or wood alcohol, which is a substance that can be toxic when ingested or absorbed through the skin. Since this first discovery, the agency launched an investigation into the safety of hand sanitizers.

The past few months have seen multiple instances of aggression and violence against workers who attempted to enforce their establishment’s COVID-19 prevention policies and practices with customers.

As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued new guidance instructing employees not to force any customer who appears upset or potentially violent to comply with their workplace’s COVID-19 prevention requirements. In addition to this new guidance, the CDC also provided strategies to help employers reduce the risk of violence that may be aimed at their staff when implementing organizational standards to limit the spread of COVID-19. Keep reading to learn more about the CDC’s latest guidance and workplace violence prevention strategies in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues, employers are discerning appropriate actions to prioritize health and safety within their workplace.

Organizations are responsible for protecting the health of their employees, which can include recommending self-quarantine to employees who have been exposed to COVID-19. An exposure to COVID-19 may take place within the workplace, or an employee may report an exposure outside of the workplace. This HR Insights article provides an overview of guidance from the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) for quarantine after exposure to COVID-19. This guidance addresses who should quarantine, as well as how long quarantine should last dependent on the scenario.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is drawing attention to two big national food recalls to prevent salmonella outbreaks. The advisories are focused on frozen shrimp and both bagged and bulk peaches.

As of Aug. 19, 2020, the salmonella outbreak linked to peaches has sickened 68 people in nine states. So far, there are no reports of anyone getting sick from the shrimp. Both investigations are ongoing.

Managing a fleet and drivers can be a challenge, particularly given the potential for accidents, employee injuries, liability concerns and increased costs associated with vehicle upkeep.

Nevertheless, your fleet—whether it be a handful of cars or dozens of commercial vehicles— plays a major role in the success of your organization. As such, it’s crucial to take a proactive approach to fleet management. To help accomplish this, many businesses have started to equip vehicles with devices known as telematics. These devices can help reduce numerous fleet risks, improve efficiency and promote safe driving behaviors. This Risk Insights provides an overview of telematics and the benefits that this technology can provide for your organization. For detailed information on the telematics solutions available to your fleet, contact us today.

This article compiles important information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding cloth face coverings. Employers should use this expert guidance to inform their workplace policy decisions. As always, employers must also comply with state and local laws, so they should speak with legal counsel before finalizing any decisions related to mandatory face coverings.

Cloth face coverings are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the cloth face covering coughs, sneezes, talks or raises their voice.

This is called source control. This recommendation is based on what we know about the role respiratory droplets play in the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, paired with emerging evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that show cloth face coverings reduce the spray of droplets when worn over the nose and mouth.

When workplace health and safety incidents happen, it’s important to respond appropriately—that’s where incident investigations can help.

Conducting an investigation allows employers to identify potential health and safety failings that led to the incident and make necessary workplace adjustments to help prevent future incidents. Review this guidance for more information on what workplace health and safety incidents are, the incident investigation process and the importance of having an effective investigation policy.