Good Jobs and Equity in a Clean Energy Economy:

Labor Panel Discussion on the Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act

On September 15, 2021, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act legislation into law that put the state on a path towards a 100% clean energy future by 2050.

Key elements of the law include investments in training a diverse workforce, key ratepayer and residential customer protections, and implemented a displaced worker bill of rights. Illinois is the first state in the Midwest to enact legislation to combat the climate crisis and build an economy for the future.

Join Jersey Renews and the NJ Work Environment Council on Monday, February 7 @ 12pm for a Labor Panel discussion to hear about how Illinois is moving towards a clean energy future that prioritizes equity and good jobs.

Biden-Harris Administration Increasing COVID-19 Testing for Schools

COVID continues to impact our students and educators, resulting in sickness, absences, staffing shortages, and the need to turn to remote learning in some cases. In an effort to help K-12 schools stay open and to implement and sustain screening testing and the Test to Stay programs in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Biden-Harris administration is taking the following steps:

• The Administration will distribute 5 million free, rapid tests to schools each month. 
• Provide 5 million additional lab-based PCR tests for free to schools per month to perform individual and pooled testing in classrooms nationwide. 
• Deploy federal surge testing units to support free testing access for students, school staff, and families at community testing sites. 
• Connect schools with COVID-19 testing providers to set up school testing programs using American Rescue Plan Funds. 

• Provide new training, resources, and materials for implementing Test to Stay in Schools. 

School districts can also take advantage of the below resources immediately, to support COVID-19 testing.

• Free Community COVID-19 Testing Sites. Schools may consider referring students, teachers, and staff to community-based testing sites that are supported by federal funding. 
• Full Reimbursement for COVID-19 Testing Programs. FEMA’s Public Assistance Program continues to provide federal funding to states, tribal nations, territories and localities to support COVID-19 testing. This includes testing needed to safely open and operate public facilities, including K-12 schools.100% reimbursement is available for schools and localities to set up diagnostic and screening testing programs. 

Although the administration needs to do more, especially in regard to the establishment of uniform, clear guidance and protocols, these are good support measures to help stop the spread of the virus. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics Annual Report

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their annual report on work-related injuries and illnesses in New Jersey for 2020. There were a total of 75,800 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses with an average incident rate of 2.9 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers. The national average incident rate was reported at 2.7 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers. 
Out of the total incidents in the state 54,200, or 77 percent, of them were of a more severe nature, involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction. The national average currently stands at 69 percent.

Click here for the full report.

COVID Infections Affecting the Unvaccinated

COVID-19 related hospitalizations have declined slowly over the past few days in New Jersey, having peaked at over 6,000.

Unfortunately, death rates are still expected to remain high for the next few weeks and hundreds of patients are still in Intensive Care Units and on ventilators. According to state Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli, out of the people who are hospitalized, 68% are not vaccinated or are only partially vaccinated, and 32% are fully vaccinated.  

For those who require the use of ventilators, the New Jersey Hospital Association reports, 82% are not vaccinated, 16% have one or two shots, and 2% are boosted. While it is expected that infection rates will continue to decrease in the state, it remains important to use all precautions including booster shots to best defend against possible exposures to COVID-19

OSHA Vaccine and Testing ETS Withdrawn

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has officially withdrawn its Emergency Temporary Standard  (ETS) requiring vaccination or testing of unvaccinated employees of companies with 100 or more workers after a flawed Supreme Court Ruling. This move comes after the Supreme Court voted 6 to 3 to block the ETS for larger employers.

In a different decision, the Supreme Court has allowed a vaccine ETS for health care workers to stand, ruling that workers from facilities that are in Medicaid or Medicare programs fall under the authority of the federal government.

OSHA will still pursue a vaccine and/or testing standard as a proposed rule under section 6(b). For more information on the rule click here.

To learn more about how to protect yourself in the workplace, go to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Resources for Workers.

Monday, February 7, 1:00pm - 3:00pm: Violence Prevention Training. Join us as we discuss workplace violence prevention strategies, identifying safety system failures in the workplace, and OSHA and NJ state regulations that address workplace violence.

Wednesday, February 9, 10:00am - 11:30am: Preventing Exposure to Workplace Chemicals. Employers have a responsibility under OSHA’s HazCom Standard to educate and train employees about the chemicals they work with and how to protect themselves from any potential hazards. In this training, we will discuss OSHA’s HazCom standard, and how to assess chemical hazards and understand safety data sheets.

Wednesday, February 16, 12:00pm - 1:30pm: Hazard Mapping Training. Join us as we examine hazards in your workplace and learn how to develop a map to identify, locate, and evaluate hazards so they can be targeted for elimination. This training will be participatory and you will need video capability, paper and pen for the breakout rooms.

Wednesday, February 23, 12:00pm - 2:00pm: Identifying Workplace Hazards in the Time of COVID-19. Understanding the hierarchy of Systems of Safety (with design as the primary system) enables workers to become active participants in developing and implementing safe work practices (“training and procedures”). Join us as we introduce the concept of Systems of Safety and identifying safety system failures in the workplace.