As part of our efforts to keep you informed of the agency’s activities, we wanted to let you know that OSHA has launched a national campaign to educate workers and their employers about the hazards of working outdoors in the heat and the steps needed to prevent heat-related illnesses.  Each year, thousands of outdoor workers experience heat illness, which often manifests as heat exhaustion. If not quickly addressed, heat exhaustion can become heat stroke, which killed more than 30 workers last year.

 

To support the campaign, OSHA posted a new Heat Illness Web Page that includes educational materials in English and Spanish, including low-literacy fact sheets for workers, worksite and community posters, and a public service announcement from Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.  The Web page also includes a video from Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels (in English with a Spanish transcript).  OSHA will be posting additional materials on the Heat Illness Web page, including a lesson plan that employers can use to train their workers to stay safe in the heat and a heat index Smartphone app.

 

OSHA is also partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on weather service alerts that will incorporate worker safety precautions when heat alerts are issued across the country.  NOAA will include pertinent worker safety information on its Heat Watch Web page.

 

Please see the following for more information:
OSHA News Release: “US Labor Department launches national outreach campaign to protect workers from heat-related illnesses” (Apr. 26, 2011): English and Spanish.

Our mission at the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

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I am honored to have been named Acting Secretary of the Kentucky Labor Cabinet by Governor Beshear. I pledge to you, as I did to The Governor, that I will give my maximum effort in carrying out the mission of this office.

We are fortunate in Kentucky to have a leader such as Governor Beshear to guide us through these tough economic times. The Governor recognized early in his administration the importance of our workforce by elevating Labor back to Cabinet status and concentrating on retaining, expanding and attracting jobs for those workers. He has continued to emphasize the importance of a safe, healthful and quality workplace that is conducive to cooperation between management and workers.

We at the Labor Cabinet have the opportunity to work with many of our finest employers in a cooperative effort to ensure that this atmosphere continues to thrive and spread across our Commonwealth. The success of our voluntary partnership programs in promoting a safe and healthy workplace is unsurpassed in the US and helps lead to an environment of economic opportunity for all.

As employers are strained by the severe economic forces, some choose to cut corners on safety or fail to compensate workers equitably. Although we at the Labor Cabinet have experienced the same economic stress, we continue to respond vigorously to those workers  who are endangered in the workplace whether physically or financially.

The Labor Cabinet has experienced eight budget reductions in the past three years but our employees continue to perform admirably under these conditions in carrying out our mission. I want to thank them for their commitment and dedication.

I want to extend my congratulations and best wishes to Secretary JR Gray and his wife Yvonne on his retirement. JR dedicated the greater portion of his life to the benefit of Kentucky’s working men and women. His career in the Legislature was unequaled in service to working families and as Labor Secretary he led the way in re-establishing the Cabinet to its previous stature. Thank you JR and we wish you many years of happiness and relaxation.

As I begin my tenure as Labor Secretary, I want to thank all of you who have called or written with words of encouragement and congratulations. As always, my door is open and I am only a phone call away. I will look forward to your wise council as we work together with Governor Beshear and other leaders to move our Commonwealth forward for the common good.