labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Every employer in Arkansas should take a few minutes during this busy season to update his or her 2008 Arkansas labor law posters.

The past year has brought myriad changes in labor law throughout the nation. And, more changes are on the way. California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and ten other states will be raising their state minimum wage as of January 1, 2008.

Many of these changes affect labor law posters, which is why it’s important to update the posters at least once per year.

The official list of required 2008 Arkansas labor law posters include:

• Right-To-Know
• Minimum Wage
• Unemployment Insurance
• Workers’ Compensation

In addition to the state posters, federal law requires that every employer in the nation display a number of posters. These include:

• USERRA - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
• Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law
• Federal Minimum Wage
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act
• Family and Medical Leave Act
• OSHA-Job Safety & Health Protection

A number of these posters have been updated for 2008.

The past year saw a number of significant minimum wage violations, by employers who apparently did not read the labor law posters.

In September, two companies agreed to pay nearly $1 million in unpaid overtime to 382 workers employed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The workers were employed by L&R Security Inc. of New Orleans and HKA Enterprises Inc. of Duncan, South Carolina as subcontractors for CH2M Hill of Englewood, Colorado under a FEMA contract. Employees worked as security guards at FEMA trailer sites and in debris removal, but were not paid overtime in accordance with federal law.

In August, five jointly-operated restaurants in Long Island, New York were ordered to pay almost $1 million to 191 low-wage workers. The employees had been forced to work long hours for wages less than the minimum wage, without overtime pay.  The court ordered that if the employers did not pay up, their restaurants could be sold and the proceeds used to pay the employees.

In early July, the U.S. Department of Labor forced 107 subcontractors of KBR, Inc. of Virginia to pay some $1.5 million in back wages and benefits for up to 2,600 workers who participated in the Hurricane Katrina recovery project. The construction workers were involved in repairs to the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport Mississippi or the Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Labor is still searching for some of the workers involved in that case. Anyone who believes that they are owed back wages for these projects can contact the nearest U.S. Department of Labor office. The average payment per worker in that case was $616.

The minimum wage is scheduled to go up again in 2008. On July 24, the federal minimum wage will increase from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. As with the increase in 2007, several other states will bump up their minimum wage, too, as a result of the federal minimum going up.

In other changes to labor law in 2007, Illinois also enacted a tough law regarding smoking. Almost every work environment, even restaurants bars and casinos are now non-smoking. Labor law posters will need to be updated as a result of these changes.

Until October, teens in Alaska could be employed by a gas station or convenience store that sold cigarettes. And though it was already illegal in Alaska for anyone under the age of 19 to buy cigarettes, people were concerned that these teens could be selling cigarettes to friends who might be underage. The Child Labor Laws, therefore, were amended to prohibit anyone under the age of 19 from selling cigarettes.

In addition to the changes in 2007, more changes are scheduled to occur in 2008. On January 1 and July 1, 2008, over 20 states will increase their state minimum wage.

In response to a tragic accident at an oil refinery, OSHA has implemented policy changes that should impact Arkansas worker safety. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also known as OSHA, made these changes in response to an investigation of the oil refinery explosion.

An explosion ripped through a BP oil refinery in the spring of 2005. This refinery was located near Houston, and the images on television showed flames tearing through the sky and debris falling all around. This oil refinery employed 1,800 workers. Sadly, 100 of those workers were injured in the explosion. Even more tragically, 15 people died as a result of the explosion.

Following this horrible explosion, OSHA made the safety of oil refinery workers a priority. This commitment on the part of the agency became clearer following a hearing that was held recently. This hearing concerned a report created by the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, also known as CSB. This report was about the explosion at the Texas refinery.

OSHA is conducting inspections on all oil refineries that fall within its jurisdiction in an effort to improve worker safety. During an inspection of another oil refinery that BP owns and operates, OSHA discovered the same violations that lead to the explosion near Houston. The inspections are necessary because OSHA feels that oil companies won’t, of their own volition, take the necessary steps to protect workers.

To conduct these inspections, OSHA has added 160 trained workers so far. These inspectors are trained in conducting Process Safety Management (PSM) inspections. By the end of August, 2007, the number of inspectors trained in conducting PSM inspections will have grown to 280. 

Along with state partners, OSHA completed 100 inspections of oil refineries in 2006. They have performed an additional 50 inspections so far in 2007. These inspections are important because they help protect workers. As the US Department of Labor discovered, BP learned nothing from the tragic death of workers near Houston. The inspections by OSHA should help.

An Arkansas worker safety article recently released focuses on the risks posed by the improper operation of forklifts.

According to federal and state OSHA standards, certain considerations have to be taken into account when forming a training program for forklift operators.

Also, any forklift operator who is involved in an accident or “near miss” is required to undergo retraining. If an operator is seen to operate a forklift in an unsafe manner, he or she also has to undergo a period of retraining.

Other considerations that have to be taken into account are hazards in the workplace, the operator’s prior knowledge and skill, the type of forklift being operated and the operator’s demonstrated skill.

Forklifts are also called Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs) or fork trucks, and there are around 1.5 million workers who operate them in the course of their jobs.

They are on the whole, simple to operate, but there are some risks that operators and employers need to be aware of. The most common is that the vehicle may become unstable due to an imbalanced load.

Adding attachments can change the load bearing capacity of a forklift, and this needs to be taken into consideration. The maintenance plates and operation manual should be changed to reflect this, each time a modification takes place.

Some of the attachments that are used to modify forklifts are:

• Hoppers
• Rug Rams
• Drum Carriers
• Boom Extensions
• Drum rotators
• Drum grippers
• Cylinder caddies.

These attachments are common in the manufacturing industry.

If a load is well within the forklifts load bearing capacity, it can still cause the vehicle to become unstable if it is carried too far forward. It is also important that any attachment is counted towards the total load to be carried.

When moving a load, it should be kept as low as possible. Do not add extra weight to the rear of the forklift to compensate, as it has the effect of moving the truck’s center of gravity towards the rear axel, which is an unstable pivot point.

The US Department of Labor has announced recently that there are new regulations pertaining to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).  USERRA protects the civilian job status of special reserve and National Guard soldiers who are called to active duty.

The new regulations are described on an updated version of the Arkansas USERRA poster, which is required by law to be displayed in a prominent location on every job site in the state.  Employers who have no employees serving in the reserve forces must display the poster the same as those employers with workers who are reservists.

Arkansas USERRA regulations require the reservist to provide notification to his or her employer as soon as deployment plans are known.  In some cases, however, the reservist may not be given ample lead time or, for military purposes, cannot reveal deployment plans in advance.  USERRA laws protect jobs under these circumstances, too.

Often considered military leave, Arkansas USERRA regulations allow the reservist to claim vacation or annual leave time while serving on active duty.  This determination is left to the discretion of the employer.

USERRA laws protect the job status of the reservist by locking in his or her position, responsibilities, and rate of pay until the soldier reports back to duty on the civilian job.  Many other aspects of a reservist’s civilian job status are retained under USERRA, too, although many of these aspects change from job to job.

All returning soldiers are allowed ample time to travel safely home and enjoy a brief period of rest after active duty.  The time allowed for a returning reservist to reclaim a job varies according to the length of time served on active duty. 

Soldiers who serve less than 31 days must report back to work on the first work day after coming home while those serving longer terms may have as much as 90 days to reapply for their jobs.  Job protection under USERRA covers active duty for as long as five years.

USERRA regulations require reservists to reapply for their civilian jobs although with most employers, reapplication is a mere formality.

The reservist’s pension plans are one critical issue addressed in the newest USERRA regulations.  Just as the act protects the soldier’s job status, it protects the provisions of existing pension plans, too, while the soldier is on active duty.

If you are the handy person around the house and like to tinker around with the cars too, take caution.  The OSHA warns that some older models of cars and trucks may contain asbestos in the brakes and clutches.  Asbestos is a fading issue with regard to buildings, as it has been banned for years.  We are still not completely rid of the harmful substance yet, however.

The Arkansas Worker Safety Alert urges that everyone allow professionals to handle the brakes and clutches that need repair.  Employers of these facilities should make sure that all of their workers are well aware of the risks of asbestos exposure, and what precautions to take.  There should be special written procedures available for all employees so that they can handle brakes and clutches properly.  It is imperative that all the clutch and brake repairs be done as if they contain asbestos.  Since the particles break down to extremely tiny pieces, it is almost impossible to see the asbestos.  Mechanics shouldn’t take any chances.

High levels of asbestos exposure can have deadly results.  Many diseases, such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis claim the lives of nearly 10,000 people annually.  Since asbestos can become so miniscule, once it gets into the air it can be breathed in.  Long term effects of enough asbestos exposure are awful, which is why the substance was banned.  Unfortunately, news of its presence in these car parts shows that we aren’t in the clear just yet.

The federal OSHA urges all employees in related industries to handle all brakes and clutches as if they contained asbestos.  It is every employer’s responsibility to provide instructions that will minimize asbestos exposure in their shop or garage.  It only takes one poorly handled clutch or brake to expose the entire area to this hazardous material.  Everyone, please do your part and help keep yourself and others around you healthy.