Chapitre 4. L'accident du travail chez soi.

The widespread use of teleworking during the health crisis reduced the flow of occupational accident claims by 20%. This applies to commuting accidents, as well as claims related to « immediate » or “deferred” risks (Rapp. annuel 2020 de l’Assurance maladie - Risques professionnels : Eléments statistiques et financiers, déc. 2021, p. 2 and 113). On the basis of these figures, working at home could be analyzed as a means of preventing occupational risks and improving workers’ health. In reality, however, these figures should not obscure the fact that telecommuting is a major occupational hazard. This is all the more the case given that, while telecommuting was not very widespread before the pandemic, it is now popular with employees and is being developed by many companies as a source of productivity (Rapp. CNP, May 16 2022). We therefore need to keep a close eye on the development of workplace accident legislation in this area, its adaptability to the specific claims experience of teleworkers and its perfectibility, not forgetting the thorny question of the possible recognition of the employer’s inexcusable fault in the event of the accident being covered by professional legislation.

Chapitre 2. Le télétravail et la prévention des risques professionnels.

The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred the development of telecommuting in many companies, which are now tending to make it a permanent fixture for activities that lend themselves to it. Despite its advantages, however, telecommuting does not exclude all occupational risks when carried out from the employee’s home. Under these conditions, the employer must guarantee the protection of teleworkers’ health by virtue of his safety obligation. But the implementation of a preventive approach is severely challenged by a private space that is beyond the employer’s control. What are these difficulties? How can we proceed? The ANI of November 26, which clarifies the legal framework for telecommuting, offers a few clues, and suggests a form of empowerment for employees and their managers.

Chapitre 3. La prévention des risques psychosociaux en contexte de télétravail : des questions (encore et toujours) en suspens.

For a long time, telecommuting was an atypical and little-used form of work organization. But the health crisis has changed all that. The rise of telecommuting has led to a radical transformation of the professional landscape. Its impact on the health of teleworkers is both major and little-known. In particular, the psychosocial risks induced by this work organization are difficult to grasp. What’s more, the law applicable to the protection of health in the workplace has not been adapted. All these circumstances call into question the need to create a common set of rules specific to telecommuting.

Banning Engineered Stone: A Landmark Australian Public Health Law Reform.

Union activism, medical lobbying and occupational health and safety prosecutions led to a major public health initiative in Australia - the banning from 1 July 2024 of work with engineered/artificial stone, including manufacturing, supplying, processing and installing it. This editorial contextualises within the history of regulation of workers' exposure to risks of contracting silicosis the growing international awareness of the dangers posed by working with engineered stone, particularly in relation to making and installing kitchen and bathroom benchtops made from engineered stone. It argues that the Australian initiative is an important public health decision that has a sound justification, is likely to save many lives and should be emulated internationally.

Regulating seafarers' welfare: an examination of the protection of Filipino seafarers' well-being through a legal analysis of the POEA-Standard Employment Contract.

BACKGROUND: The Philippines is the global maritime industry's single biggest source of seafarers. This article examines how the Philippines protects the welfare of its seafarers working on board ocean-going vessels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We employed a multi-method approach to better understand the POEA-SEC as a regulatory instrument. First, we analysed Philippine legislation and regulations that are shaping the employment, welfare, and working conditions of Filipino seafarers. Second, we examined the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC) which requires that minimum standards of employment for seafarers are met. We use legal analysis to examine three specific provisions that pertain to their well-being: duration of employment, monetary considerations, and working conditions in terms of hours of work and rest periods. Third, we analysed interview and focus group data on the experiences of Filipino seafarers on board ships in respect of the POEA-SEC's efficacy in protecting their well-being. RESULTS: Analysis of the policy environment for Filipino seafarers shows how the interests of powerful actors have taken precedence over those of Filipino seafarers. Seafarers' experiences suggest that they cannot be reached by the contract, whether symbolic or otherwise. The contract fails to address seafarer issues, such as security of tenure, excessive working hours resulting in fatigue, stress and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The POEA-SEC falls short as a legal document to address occupational, health and safety issues, which contribute to the detriment of seafarers' health and well-being. This indicates that the Philippine government cannot fully protect its seafarers.

Competencias y competentes en materia de salud laboral: acerca de la nulidad del Decreto SISVEL / Competencies and being competent in occupational health: on the annulment of the "Occupational health information and epidemiological surveillance system (SISVEL)" Decree

La Sentencia 15/2021 del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunidad Valenciana (sala contencioso-administrativo), de 12 de enero, declara la nulidad del Decreto 245/2019, de 15 de noviembre, del Consell, de regulación del procedimiento y de la información a proveer a la administración sanitaria en materia de salud laboral (Decreto SISVEL). El posterior recurso que la Generalitat Valenciana presentó ante el Tribunal Supremo frente a esta resolución de nulidad fue inadmitido por el Alto Tribunal, mediante Auto de 25 de mayo de 2022. De este modo, y una vez más, el intento de las comunidades autónomas de ordenar aspectos ligados a la prevención de riesgos laborales en su proyección a la salud laboral colectiva, quedaba anulado por los órganos judiciales como consecuencia de la ausencia de competencia de las entidades autonómicas para regular esta materia (AU)

Fetal Protection Policies and Corporate Liability of the US Vinyl Chloride Industry, 1974-1991.

In the late 20th century, fetal protection policies barred women from hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs on the pretext that if women became pregnant, their fetuses might be harmed by workplace exposure to toxic chemicals. Beginning in the 1970s, these policies set off a decades-long contest between the chemical industry, government agencies, and the judicial system over how to balance the uncertain reproductive health risks against sex discrimination. This article revives the subject of reproductive health and workplace protections through a historical case study of fetal protection policies at Firestone Plastics, a leader in the postwar vinyl chloride industry. I use formerly secret industry documents to argue that Firestone used scientific uncertainty and gender essentialism to skirt new regulatory pressures and minimize corporate liability. Ultimately, fetal protection policies stymied innovative regulatory efforts to protect all workers-not just women-from reproductive hazards in the workplace. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(2):271-276. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306539).

Importance of legal regulations resulting from technical harmonization in the European Union for improvement of work safety of farmers in Poland.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Accidents exert a negative effect on the quality and standard of living of rural inhabitants, especially when they make it impossible to continue work on a farm, or this work may be performed only to a limited extent. The creation of effective legal mechanisms which would guarantee the safety of operation of machinery is a crucial issue, it is of a preventive character and considerably limits the number of accidents. Approximately 16.1 million people live in the rural areas and around 2.3 million work in the agricultural sector, which represents 14.5% of all labour in Poland in 2019. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the legal regulations resulting from the directives of technical harmonization in the European Union for improvement of safety of work with the use of agricultural machinery in Poland. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The method was critical analysis of legal acts in effect, court rulings, and statistical data concerning accidentsoin farms, made available by the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE: As a result of Poland's membership of the European Union, rural areas were covered by globalization processes and single market rules, within which there function legal mechanisms of safety and quality of products. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the 16 years of Poland's membership of the EU, resulted in positive results being observed in the use of the directives of technical harmonization, especially in reducing the number of accidents involving agricultural machinery. However, this improvement may result from using newly-purchased, modern and safer agricultural machinery covered by the conformity assessment, and preventive actions carried out by the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund. An impact of other factors, not analysed in the study, cannot be ruled out.

Occupational health and safety in agriculture - a brief report on organization, legislation and support in selected European countries.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Agriculture and forestry are among the most dangerous professions in Europe, with a high level of accidents affecting the sustainability and viability of the sector. International conventions, EU directives and national legislation build the fundamental basis for prevention. The aim of the study is to describe and categorize national mechanisms of occupational safety and health (OSH) for agricultural workers in Europe, to assess the extent of implementing safety regulation, the body in charge, and to give examples of health and safety initiatives. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Results of a questionnaire-survey on basic safety regulations on farms sent by e-mail to the representatives of 30 participating European countries in the context of the Sacurima COST action network (CA 16123) are presented. Due to the complexity, only selected countries are described in this study highlighting the regulative bodies, occupational health services or specific training offers, as well as the complexity of the mechanisms. RESULTS: One of the most serious issues and deficits of EU OSH regulation is the exclusion of self-employed farmers who compose nearly 90% of the farming population. This leads to serious under-reporting of accidents, and because one of the most common measures for the performance of health and safety initiatives are the injury and ill health statistics, better registration systems are urgently needed in almost all countries as a basis for preventive efforts. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study provide a basis for raising awareness about the current OSH systems in Europe, and the importance of developing sector specific OSH strategies. The proposed activities should assist in tackling high accident rates and poor occupational health for self-employed farmers.

Intensidad del trabajo de conocimiento en la gestión de seguridad y salud en el trabajo / Intensity of the knowledge work in the occupational health and safety management activities

Introducción: La mejor gestión de seguridad y salud en el trabajo es la que practica la prevención; su eficacia se basa en conocimientos especializados para la evaluación de riesgos y la búsqueda de buenas soluciones. De ahí que el éxito dependa de la comprensión de la intensidad de conocimiento que requiere cada vez más esta tarea. Objetivo: Analizar la intensidad de trabajo de conocimiento que demanda la gestión de la seguridad y salud en el trabajo en una empresa. Métodos: El estudio se llevó a cabo en la Empresa Nacional de Análisis y Servicios Técnicos durante el periodo en que se realizó la investigación para la acreditación de su sistema de gestión de la seguridad y salud en el trabajo por la NC ISO 45001. Se evaluó la intensidad de trabajo de conocimiento a partir de la descomposición del trabajo en tareas, las que se evaluaron según las dimensiones de: calificación requerida, autonomía, innovación, intensidad de información, interdependencias y variabilidad de las situaciones. Se calculó la intensidad total, el aporte de cada tarea y de cada dimensión. Resultados: La dimensión más demandante fue la intensidad de información, tanto por lo referido a aspectos tecnológicos como a aspectos médicos y legales. Las tareas con más demanda de intensidad de conocimiento fueron la identificación de peligros y evaluación de riesgos, la capacitación de los trabajadores y la relacionada con la realización y análisis de chequeos médicos. Conclusiones: La efectividad de la gestión de la salud y seguridad en las empresas requiere de apoyos informáticos que respondan a sus necesidades e intercambios sistemáticos interdisciplinares entre ingenieros, psicólogos y médicos dedicados a la salud y seguridad ocupacional(AU)

Introduction: The best management of work safety and health is the practice of prevention; its efficiency is based in specialized knowledge for the assessment of risks and the search of good solutions. Therefore, the success depends on the comprehension of the knowledge intensity that this task requires. Objective: Analyze the intensity of the knowledge work that demands the management of safety and health in the functions of a company. Methods: The study was carried out in the National Company of Analysis and Technical Services during the period when it was performed the research for the accreditation of their Occupational health and safety management system by the NC ISO 45001. It was assessed the intensity of knowledge work from the division of the work in tasks, which were assessed according to the dimensions: required calification, autonomy, innovation, intensity of information, interdependencies and variability of the situations. It was calculated the overall intensity, the contribution of each task and of each dimension. Results: The most demanding dimension was the intensity of information, because of the technological aspects as well as due to the medical and legal aspects. The tasks with most demand of knowledge intensity were: the identification of dangers and assessment of risks, the training of workers, and the one related with the conduction and analysis of medical checkings. Conclusions: The effectiveness of health and safety's management in companies requires informatics supports that actually respond to their needs, and interdisciplinary systematic exchanges among engineers, psychologists and physicians devoted to occupational health and security(AU)

No immediate effect of regulatory reduction of chromium in leather among adult patients with chromium allergy.

BACKGROUND: In March 2014, the European Commission issued a new regulation restricting the content of hexavalent chromium (Cr) in leather to no more than 3 mg/kg. We previously performed a questionnaire study in January 2014 to characterize our patients with Cr contact allergy prior to regulatory intervention. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether clinical characteristics, self-reported sources of Cr exposure, and burden of disease changed in patients with Cr allergy over time. METHODS: A questionnaire study was performed among 172 adult dermatitis patients with Cr allergy and 587 age- and sex-matched dermatitis patients without Cr allergy. A questionnaire was sent to all dermatitis patients patch tested from 2003 to 2018 in August 2019. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 61.2% (759/1241). Patients with Cr allergy were still more commonly affected by current foot dermatitis (odds ratio [OR] 3.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.07-7.08) and hand dermatitis (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.13-3.49) compared with controls diagnosed during 2013 to 2018. The proportion of patients with Cr allergy reporting dermatitis caused by leather exposure did not change during 2003 to 2012 vs 2013 to 2018 (71.0% vs 66.2%, P = .5). Furthermore, estimates on occupational performance and disease severity (eg, current dermatitis), number of anatomical locations with dermatitis, worst-case dermatitis, and effect on work were similar in patients with Cr allergy for 2003 to 2012 vs 2013 to 2018. CONCLUSION: No immediate sign of improvement was found in patients with Cr allergy concerning severity of disease and dermatitis from leather exposures 5 years after adoption of the regulation against hexavalent Cr in leather. The regulation may have to be revised for better protection of those already sensitized.

Impact of California Safe Patient Handling Legislation: Health Care Workers' Perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal injuries from patient handling are significant problems among health care workers. In California, legislation requiring hospitals to implement safe patient handling (SPH) programs was enacted in 2011. This qualitative study explored workers' experiences and perceptions about the law, their hospital's SPH policies and programs, patient handling practices, and work environment. METHODS: Three focus groups were conducted with 21 participants (19 nurses and 2 patient handling specialists) recruited from 12 hospitals located in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley. Qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Multiple themes emerged from diverse experiences and perceptions. Positive perceptions included empowerment to advocate for safety, increased awareness of SPH policies and programs, increased provision of patient handling equipment and training, increased lift use, and improvement in safety culture. Perceived concerns included continuing barriers to safe practices and lift use such as difficulty securing assistance, limited availability of lift teams, understaffing, limited nursing employee input in the safety committee, blaming of individuals for injury, increased workload, and continuing injury concerns. Participants indicated the need for effective training, sufficient staffing, and management support for injured workers. CONCLUSIONS/APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: This study identified improvements in hospitals' SPH programs and practices since the passage of California's SPH law, as well as continuing challenges and barriers to safe practices and injury prevention. The findings provide useful information to understanding the positive impacts of the SPH law but also notes the potential limitations of this legislation in the view of health care workers.