Ukrainian war hits local tech companies with overseas workers
Companies have had to figure out ways to support their Ukraine-based workers while also keeping business moving in a time of huge disruption.
Workplace Safety
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New York latest state to target Amazon’s use of productivity quotas
A report released in April by Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of four labor unions, found Amazon employed 33% of all U.S. warehouse workers in 2021, but was responsible for 49% of all injuries in the industry.
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Southwest pilots union says fatigue is safety problem
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which is currently negotiating with the airline for a new contract, said the number of pilots asking to be relieved from a flight assignment because of fatigue jumped 330% in March compared with the same month in pre-pandemic years.
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Companies take lead on response to COVID surge
While many government leaders seem reluctant to reimpose restrictions, businesses are beginning to lay down the law.
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Pot users welcome: Amazon to stop testing jobseekers for cannabis
The company, the second-largest private employer in the United States behind Walmart, is making the change as states legalize cannabis or introduce laws banning employers from testing for it.
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Articles
Michigan’s Howard suspended 5 games for Wisconsin altercation
University of Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard also was fined $40,000 for hitting a Wisconsin assistant in the head, triggering a postgame skirmish.
Michigan hoops coach Howard hits Wisconsin assistant after loss
Juwan Howard struck Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft after jawing with Wisconsin coach Greg Gard during the handshake line. The Big Ten said it planned to “take swift and appropriate disciplinary action when it completes its review.”
Man dies after caught in industrial door in Terre Haute
First responders were dispatched Friday morning to the Steel Dynamics Heartland LLC plant in Terre Haute and found the man caught in a large roll-up industrial door, Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse said.
Members of Congress want answers from Amazon on warehouse collapse
The letter from more than a dozen lawmakers asks Amazon for documents and details about its policies for safety drills, storm shelters and flexible working hours during storms.
FedEx shooting victims ask Indianapolis for $2.1 million
Lawyers for the victims said the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office failed to follow Indiana’s red flag law when they decided not to file a case with the courts to suspend the shooter’s gun rights in March of 2020.
FAA proposes giving flight attendants 1 more hour of rest
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed Thursday that flight attendants get 10 consecutive hours of rest between shifts. The proposal does not change the current 14-hour limit on a flight attendant’s work day.
More companies weighing penalties for unvaccinated workers
Employers are increasingly moving from luring workers to get their shots to using threats, workplace experts say, frustrated by vaccine holdouts and emboldened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week.
Poll: Half of U.S. employees favor workplace shot mandate
The sentiment is similar for workplace mask mandates, with 50% of Americans working in person favoring them and 29% opposed, while 59% of remote workers are in favor.
Union leaders decry Indiana’s high rate of worker deaths
Critics are calling for improved workplace safety enforcement with the state’s rate of deaths while working about one-third higher than the national average.
Indianapolis-area employers reluctant to require employee vaccinations
Companies are offering plenty of incentives to encourage their workers to get COVID vaccinations, but few, if any, are requiring the shots as a condition for coming back to work—or, in the case of new hires, for getting a job offer.
Safety expert: Make a plan, be ready to execute
Eric Dietz, director of Purdue University’s Homeland Security Institute, says businesses should have “active shooter” emergency drills just as they have fire drills.
Policy forbidding cell phones at work not limited to FedEx
From safety concerns to productivity and data security, there are many reasons why companies may limit employee access to cell phones. Some FedEx employees said the company’s no-phone policy delayed contact with loved ones after the mass shooting on April 15.
Police ID two guns used by FedEx shooter
A police probable cause affidavit released Monday said Brandon Scott Hole had white supremacist websites on his computer when he was investigated during an arrest in March 2020.
Lives lost in FedEx shooting ranged from recent high school grads to 74-year-old vet
Here’s a look at the eight people who lost their lives Thursday in the tragic mass shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis.
FedEx workers likely to suffer trauma, need support after mass shooting
Mental health counselors say it’s important for workers in such situations get immediate and ongoing care to help them get through the trauma.
Police trying to identify gunman, motive in FedEx shooting
Indianapolis police Deputy Chief Craig McCartt said the gunman arrived at the facility shortly after 11 p.m. in a car and almost immediately began “randomly” shooting at people in the parking lot with a rifle.
FedEx CEO: ‘We know we lost eight team members in this senseless act of violence’
The chairman of FedEx said Friday that eight of the people who died in a mass shooting at one of the company’s facilities in Indianapolis late Thursday night were employees.
At least 11 other workplace shootings reported in Indiana since mid-2015
In addition to the nine deaths reported overnight at FedEx, at least four other Indiana deaths and four injuries have resulted from workplace shootings since mid-2015 in Indiana.
McDonald’s to mandate anti-harassment training worldwide
The change is part of a larger reckoning over sexual harassment at McDonald’s. At least 50 workers have filed charges against the company over the last five years, alleging physical and verbal harassment and, in some cases, retaliation when they complained.