NC labor ledger

              By Tony Eggleston

Senior Training Specialist

The U. S. Department of Labor

has selected the Industrial

Extension Service at N. C. State

University to be a Regional

Training Center for the OSHA

Training Institute.

Eight new centers were

selected through a national

competition announced last

July. Applicant organizations

were evaluated based on occu-pational

safety and health

experience, continuing educa-tion

training background,

classroom and laboratory

availability, and the ability to provide training throughout the

region.

The OTI Education Centers program was created in 1992 to

complement the OSHA Training Institute in Arlington

Heights, Ill., which is OSHA’s premier training provider. The

OTI Education Centers provide training nationwide to private

sector and government employees.

“ The entire team, including our partners, is so excited for what

this program can do for North Carolina and the surrounding

states,” said Wendy Laing, the IES program manager.

The team for this long- term program includes IES and

NCSU, East Carolina University, University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Tennessee, and the

Carolinas Association of General Contractors. In addition, the

other members of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership

will be hosting classes. Counterparts in the MEP are located

in Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and

Florida.

“ We are pleased to add the

new OSHA Training Institute

Education Centers in our

continuing effort to promote

employee safety and health

through training,” said Assistant

Secretary of Labor for OSHA

Edwin G. Foulke Jr. “ These

centers will extend access to a

greater number of individuals

who seek to incorporate OSHA

safety and health practices into

their workplaces.”

With a full- time designation

as a Regional Training Center,

the IES will prepare training

programs to reflect the needs of

employers in and around North Carolina. Early plans include

making available the 500 series of topics, which are various

levels of train- the- trainer subjects for both general industry

and construction oriented trainers. IES anticipates subjects

such as hazardous materials, machine guarding and industrial

hygiene subjects to be among the early course offerings.

The NCDOL Occupational Safety and Health Division’s

Bureau of Education, Training and Technical Assistance is in

a long- term alliance with the NCSU Industrial Extension

Service and will be supporting the IES in this new program.

Wanda Lagoe, ETTA bureau chief, recently met with

Wendy Laing to discuss the early stages of development of the

Regional Training Center and status of other alliance pro-grams,

such as the Master of Environment, Safety and Health

( MESH) training program. This program has gained wide-spread

recognition and has become recognized as a necessary

credential for safety and health practitioners.

NC Labor

N. C. State Selected as OSHA Regional Training Center

LEDGER January/ February 2008

ETTA bureau chief Wanda Lagoe ( left) meets with IES program managerWendy

Laing after learning that N. C. State University was selected as a Regional

Training Center for the OSHA Training Institute.

NC Labor LEDGER

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www. nclabor. com/ news/ ledgersubs. htm

Inside this edition:

First Subcontractor Achieves Building Star Status page 3

Posting of Injury and Illness Summary Required page 3

Workplace Worries page 4

Deadly Mistakes page 4

Workplace Fatalities Post Record Decrease page 5

Bulletin Board page 6

2

From

Commissioner

Cherie Berry

Cherie Berry

Commissioner

Editor........................................................................ Neal O’Briant

Layout and Design.............................................. Jeff Wilson

Publications Bureau Chief.................... Mike Daniels

1101 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699- 1101

1- 800- 625- 2267 • www. nclabor. com

Recognition Roundup recognizes businesses that qualify for one of the N. C.

Department of Labor recognition programs. Congratulations to all of the

recent award recipients.

Recognition Roundup

Figures released recently brought good news to North

Carolina as 20 fewer lives were lost in workplace acci-dents

in 2007 than in the previous year. Our injuries and

illnesses in the workplace remains at a record low rate of

4.0 for every 100 full- time employees in private industry.

We cannot accomplish our goals without the help of

employers and employees across the state. Each spring

and early summer, I get to meet many of the men and

women who have contributed to the growing awareness of

safety and health on the job at the Safety Award banquets

throughout the state. It’s just one chance to say thank you

and to give you a small bit of the recognition you deserve.

We know our safety message is getting through to these

employers and employees. We need your help in spreading

it farther. Tell your colleagues about our free consultative

services and training programs. Let your neighbors know

about what you learned in one of our 10- hour courses or

at one of the safety schools.

Our mission is to help businesses improve workplace

safety and to reward companies for their efforts. But the

real reward is when someone takes a safer route at doing

a job because you have shared your knowledge. You

could prevent someone from becoming another statistic.

Carolina Star Award

Corning Cable Systems, Hickory Cable Facility,

Hickory

Building Star Award

D. H. Griffin Construction Co., Raleigh

Shaw Group— Shaw Constructors Inc., Charlotte

( recertification)

Safety and Health Achievement Recognition

Program ( SHARP) Award

Mannington Wood Floors, High Point

The following Safety Award banquets are scheduled for

March and April:

Date Time City

March 25 7 p. m. Lincolnton

April 1 Noon Asheboro

April 22 6 p. m. Roxboro

April 24 Noon Concord

April 29 6: 30 p. m. Greenville

April 30 Noon Burlington

Contact Heather Crews at ( 919) 807- 2908 or Heather. Crews@ nclabor. com

for more information about the Safety Awards Program.

Safety Award Banquets

Make safety one of

your New Year’s

resolutions!

CFE Inc. in Apex is the first subcontractor to receive the

N. C. Department of Labor’s Building Star designation.

Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry presented the company’s

employees with the Carolina Star flag at a ceremony Nov. 30.

The Building Star Program recognizes companies in the

building and construction industry that meet the stringent

requirements of the Carolina Star program. At first, the

Building Star program was aimed only toward general

contractors. NCDOL opened up the program in October

2006 to allow subcontractors to apply.

CFE is a subsidiary of Evans Roofing Co. of Elmira, N. Y.

The Apex office employs 50 associates, and 70 percent of

the workforce is Hispanic. The company has created a

culture where all associates are able to work together safely

and are able to effectively communicate company safety

requirements to their fellow associates, customers and other

contractors.

“ This was not a mild undertaking,” said Dave Batrony,

corporate risk manager for Evans Roofing Co. “ We work

together to provide a safe working environment for all of

our associates and anyone that comes onto our jobsites. Our

CFE North Carolina Division is dedicated to working

productively without sacrificing safety or quality. This has

enabled us to achieve a TCIR rate 88 percent below the

industry average and a DART rate 100 percent below the

national average. The associates at CFE Inc. are a family

and care about the safety of their co- workers.”

The company applied for the North Carolina Building

Star recognition in February 2007, with a site evaluation

completed in June 2007. In September 2007, the company

was approved as the N. C. Department of Labor’s first

subcontractor in the Building Star Program.

Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry joins the employees of CFE Inc. in

Apex to celebrate its achievement as the first subcontractor to earn

Building Star status.

3

First Subcontractor Achieves Prestigious Building Star Status

By Neal O’Briant

Public Information Officer

Employers are reminded that they must post a summary of

job- related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2007. The

N. C. Department of Labor requires the summary be posted

from Feb. 1 through April 30.

Most employers must keep a Log of Work- Related

Injuries and Illnesses ( Form 300) that records all work-related

fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The Summary ( Form

300A) is compiled from the data on the log. Companies

without any injuries and illnesses should post the summary

with zeroes on the total lines.

“ This posting requirement is an important way employers

keep their employees informed about safety and health con-ditions

in the workplace,” said Wanda Lagoe, bureau chief

of the Education, Training and Technical Assistance Bureau.

Companies that had 10 or fewer employees at all times

during the previous calendar year are exempt from keeping

injury and illness logs and posting summaries unless

informed otherwise. Certain businesses classified in a

specific low- hazard retail, service, finance, insurance or real

estate industry are also exempt from keeping injury and

illness logs and posting summaries unless requested to do so

for survey purposes.

For more information about recording criteria or for a list

of exempt industries, contact the Education, Training and

Technical Assistance Bureau at 1- 800- 625- 2267. To down-load

a free copy of the OSHA 300, 300A or OSHA 301, as

well as recordkeeping instructions, visit our Web site at

www. nclabor. com and click on the Publications tab.

Posting of Injury and Illness Summary Required

Keep up with all the safety events and

educational opportunities featured

on the NCDOL Bulletin Board!

Western Carolina

Safety School

Sponsored by the

American Society of Safety Engineers,

Western Carolina Chapter

April 3, 2008

Hickory

Contact Gary Barger at ( 828) 302- 3788.

By Steve Sykes

State Plan Coordinator

Fatal Events: On Oct.

20, 2006, a 28- year- old

worker assigned to a paving crew was killed when he was

struck by a truck that was spraying an adhesive designed to

bond the old and new asphalt together on the road. Struck- by

accidents were the leading cause of construction deaths in FY

2007 with eight fatalities.

Ageneral contractor had been hired to complete road resur-facing

on a street in a residential neighborhood. The victim

had been assigned to the paving crew to complete the job. The

employee was normally assigned to a maintenance crew but

was placed with the paving crew that day as a fill- in to

perform the duties of a flagger. The deceased had worked with

the general contractor for two months and 13 days.

A truck driver had been instructed to spray an adhesive on

the road that was being repaved. The truck driver instructed

the victim and another employee to move before he put the

truck in reverse. The truck driver did not employ a spotter

while he backed up but stated that he used the side mirrors and

did not see the victim in the road. Another employee who

witnessed the accident said he heard the backup alarm. The

employee tried to warn the victim of the truck, and he did not

understand why the victim did not move out of the way.

Investigation Results

The investigation determined that the truck driver did not

confirm that it was safe to back up as required by company

policy. The victim had received orientation training but not

training on the dangers associated with flagger duties. There

was not an established training program for employees serving

as flaggers even though the use of flaggers was a routine part

of paving jobs. Any flagger training was conducted orally by

the crew foreman and varied in content from job to job. The

victim was wearing a high visibility vest but had not been issued

a hand signaling device to direct traffic or a two- way radio to

communicate with the two other flaggers on the job site.

Recommendations

 Employees should be trained in the hazards associated

with their job.

 An employer should conduct a job safety analysis to

identify hazards and to develop methods to avoid accidents.

 New employees should be monitored to make sure that

they are following all safety and health rules.

 Training should be provided when job changes are initiated.

Q: I own a business in the

private sector. Can I give comp

time to my employees instead of

paying them time and one- half

overtime pay?

A: No. Abusiness in the private

sector cannot give comp time in

lieu of paying the time and

one- half overtime pay for the

hours its non- exempt employees work in excess of 40 in a

workweek. You may be thinking of government employers in

the public sector who are allowed under federal labor law to

give their employees time and one- half comp time hours for

the hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek in lieu of

overtime pay with certain restrictions. A business in the

private sector can give comp time to its bona fide exempt

employees since these employees do not have to be paid time

and one- half overtime pay. Such a comp time policy may be

hour- for- hour but must be in writing as with any other wage

benefit policy.

Q: Who would be a bona fide exempt employee?

A: The N. C. Wage and Hour Act refers to the federal Fair

Labor Standards Act for a definition of bona fide employees.

In general, a job title alone is not sufficient to establish the

exempt status of an employee. The exempt or nonexempt status

of any particular employee must be determined on the basis of

whether the employee’s salary and duties meet the require-ments

of the regulations. See Fact Sheet # 17A put out by the

federal Wage and Hour Division: www. dol. gov/ esa/ regs/ compli-ance/

whd/ fairpay/ fs17a_ overview. pdf.

4

Charlotte Safety

and Health School

April 24- 25, 2008

Charlotte

Contact Russell McCue at ( 704) 665- 4341.

Eastern Carolina Safety

and Health School

April 10- 11, 2008

Sheraton Atlantic Beach

Contact John Hodge at ( 252) 672- 7329.

5

By Neal O’Briant

Public Information Officer

Fatalities from workplace accidents fell 30 percent in

North Carolina last year— the largest decrease ever record-ed—

according to figures released recently by the N. C.

Department of Labor.

The number of fatal work accidents fell from 65 in 2006

to 45 in 2007. The N. C. Department of Labor investigated

68 workplace fatalities in 2005 and 75 in 2004. Non- work-related

fatalities involving medical conditions such as heart

attacks and strokes are not included in these totals.

“ I credit the employers and employees of our state for

continuing to emphasize safety in the workplace,” Labor

Commissioner Cherie Berry said. “ We have noticed

improvements during the past few years, but this ( 30)

percent drop is remarkable.”

“ And yet, I am saddened by every fatality,” Berry said.

“ Even one fatality affects many people— the family, co-workers,

the community. I want all workers to return home

safe and healthy to their families, loved ones and friends.”

In 2000, North Carolina had a workplace injury and

illness rate of 5.7 cases for every 100 full- time workers in

the private sector. The latest U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

figures show by 2006 the state’s injury and illness rate had

dropped to 4.0 in the private sector. The national rate was

4.4 for 2006.

“ The business and industry leaders of our state realize that

workplace safety training pays big dividends,” Berry said.

“ We get to see these results in this huge reduction in work-place

fatalities, but they’re seeing it every day in increased

productivity and reduced workers’ compensation costs. Asafe

work environment contributes to economic development.”

Of the 45 fatalities, 20 occurred in construction. Another

11 took place in manufacturing. Seven fatalities occurred in

the retail trade and wholesale trade sectors, and three fatalities

occurred in the services industry. The forestry industry had

two fatalities, as did the transportation industry.

More than two- thirds of North Carolina’s counties had no

work- related fatalities. Wake County experienced the most

fatalities with four, followed by Cumberland County with

three. Eight counties had two fatalities. They were Chowan,

Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Lee, Mecklenburg and

Wilson. There were 22 counties that experienced one fatality.

Among racial groups, whites had 30 fatalities and blacks

had eight. There were six Hispanic victims, a 57 percent

decrease from the 14 in 2006. There was one Asian victim.

The leading cause of the work- related fatalities was being

crushed by an object with 18 of the fatalities, followed by 12

fatalities involving being struck by an object. Six North

Carolinians suffered fatal slips or falls. Two workers were

electrocuted, and two died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Another five workers died in various other event categories.

Workplace Fatalities Post Record Decrease

Agriculture Safety and Health..........................( 919) 807- 2923

Apprenticeship..............................................................( 919) 733- 7533

Boiler and Pressure Vessels ..................................( 919) 807- 2760

Consultative Services............................................( 919) 807- 2899

Education, Training and

Technical Assistance ( ETTA)............................( 919) 807- 2875

Elevator and Amusement Devices..................( 919) 807- 2770

Employment Discrimination..............................( 919) 807- 2831

Library............................................................................( 919) 807- 2848

Mine and Quarry....................................................( 919) 807- 2790

OSH Compliance........................................................( 919) 779- 8570

Wage and Hour..........................................................( 919) 807- 2796

1- 800- 625- 2267  www. nclabor. com

Cherie Berry, Commissioner of Labor

Safety

Quick Cards

are now available!

View our extensive titles at

www. nclabor. com

   

     

6

Wage and Hour Seminars

Feb. 21

The Enrichment Center, Winston- Salem

Contact Shannon Council at ( 919) 807- 2797.

Feb. 28

Neal Senior Center, Shelby

Contact Dawn Beasley at ( 919) 807- 2798.

March 4

Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce, Wake Forest

Contact Shannon Council at ( 919) 807- 2797.

10- Hour General Industry

March 5- 6

A- B Tech Community College, Asheville

Contact Jill Sparks at ( 828) 254- 1921 Ext. 5849

or jsparks@ abtech. edu.

10- Hour Construction Course

March 13- 14

Raleigh

Contact Tamika Hackney at ( 919) 508- 1822

or tdhackney@ dot. state. nc. us.

Long Term Care

10- Hour General Industry

March 25- 26

Well Spring Retirement Community, Greensboro

Contact Carol Owens at ( 336) 545- 5385

or cowens@ well- spring. org.

31st N. C. Mine Safety

and Health Conference

April 9- 10

Concord

Contact William Gerringer at ( 919) 807- 2790

or William. Gerringer@ nclabor. com.

10- Hour General Industry

April 16- 17

Research Triangle Park

Contact Richard Pereira at ( 336) 215- 9844

or Richard. Pereira@ grainger. com.

Western Carolina Safety School

Sponsored by the American Society

of Safety Engineers, Western Carolina Chapter

April 3

Hickory

Contact Gary Barger at ( 828) 302- 3788.

Eastern Carolina Safety

and Health School

April 10- 11

Atlantic Beach

Contact John Hodge at ( 252) 672- 7329.

www. ecshs. com

Charlotte Safety

and Health School

April 24- 25

Charlotte

Contact Russell McCue at ( 704) 665- 4341.

www. charlottesafetyschool. com