labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Kansas workplace fatalities numbers are just in, and it is not a pretty picture. The most recent figures show a 5%  increase in workplace fatalities, from 81 per year to 85 per year.

Even more shocking, 93% of those killed at work were male according to the Kansas Department of Labor. Of the total 85 fatalities, 79 were male. Only 7% of the workplace fatalities, or 6 individuals killed, were female.

Under Kansas law, employers must display safety posters in the workplace. Federal law requires (more…)

Police say a press operator in rural western Kentucky killed his supervisor and four coworkers before turning the gun on himself on June 25, 2008.

According to news reports, 25-year-old Wesley Higdon of Henderson had a dispute with his supervisor on the assembly line. The worker left, calling his girlfriend to tell her that he wanted to kill his boss. The girlfriend didn’t call police or warn anyone.

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Police in Illinois report two dead in another incident of violence in the workplace. On June 24 2008, a gunman entered the building and shot a woman. In turn, he was fatally wounded by police as he tried to escape from the building.

Episodes of workplace violence underscore the fact that employers should be prepared, according to OSHA. Along with plans for fire, flood and earthquake, every employer should have a procedure to handle violence.

The man apparently entered the Dolton business shortly after 2 pm and took the woman hostage. She was able to set off the panic alarm, which silently alerted police to a robbery or other crisis situation.

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