Mass. health boards overwhelmed, unready to protect workers
Mass. health boards overwhelmed, unready to protect workers
SHANNON IRIARTE, SHWETHA SURENDRAN AND MAGGIE MULVIHILL/The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism , The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
May 12, 2021
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BOSTON (AP) With federal regulators missing from the field and state leaders scrambling to manage the COVID-19 crisis, Massachusetts’ 351 overtaxed local boards of health were unwittingly thrust into a new role last year overseers of workplace safety.
The challenge created by forcing that responsibility on the municipal agencies, some staffed with only one or two people, may have contributed to at least one chairman’s heart attack and highlighted the fragility of the workplace-safety landscape in Massachusetts.