Massachusetts Health Boards Overwhelmed, Unready to Protect Workers By Shannon Iriarte, Shwetha Surendran and Maggie Mulvihill | May 14, 2021
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.
“It’s brutal. It’s brutal. It’s off the charts,” said Michael R. Hugo, government affairs director for the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards. “There is so much egregious behavior going on by businesses that nobody has time to do it all.”
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.
Furloughed workers down in 1st week of May
05/10/2021 03:58 PM
CNA file photo
Taipei, May 10 (CNA) The number of furloughed workers in Taiwan fell in the first week of May from a week earlier as employment in the manufacturing sector became more stable, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Monday.
Data compiled by the MOL showed that the number of workers who reached an agreement with their employers to take unpaid leave fell by 440 from a week earlier to 3,782 as of May 7.
The data also indicated that the number of employers who implemented unpaid leave programs also fell 53 from a week earlier to 394 as of April 30.
Furloughed worker number up week-on-week
05/03/2021 03:03 PM
CNA file photo
Taipei, May 3 (CNA) The number of furloughed workers in Taiwan increased in one week as border controls amid the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the tourism industry, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Monday.
Data compiled by the MOL showed that the number of workers who reached an agreement with their employers to take unpaid leave as of April 30 rose to 4,222 from 4,109 as of April 25.
The data also indicated that the number of employers who implemented unpaid leave programs also rose by 17 in one week to 447 as of April 30.
Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛), director of the MOL s Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, told reporters that the border controls imposed to fend off the pandemic kept the local service support industry, which includes travel agencies, made it no surprise that the number of furloughed workers was on the rise.
More workers furloughed due to border restrictions
Staff writer, with CNA
The number of furloughed workers in the nation increased over the past week as border controls amid the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the tourism industry, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
As of Friday, the number of workers who had reached an agreement with their employers to take unpaid leave rose to 4,222, up from 4,109 on April 25, ministry data showed.
The number of employers that implement unpaid leave programs rose by 17 to 447 over the period, the data showed.
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said that the border controls have affected the local service support industry, which includes travel agencies, adding that it is no surprise that the number of furloughed workers is rising.