Flashings

California approves bounty hunter law

California has enacted a bounty hunter law, also referred to as the "sue your boss" law, which allows current and former employees to sue their employers for any violations of the California Labor Code (CLC)—and employees have hundreds of provisions from which to choose, trivial and not-so-trivial, when looking for a lawsuit.

If you are based in California, following are some vulnerabilities to watch for:

• Hours—Understand the many CLC provisions with regard to break and lunch time periods, overtime pay and more
  
  
.
• Exempt/nonexempt—You will not necessarily be seen as complying with CLC wage and hour provisions just because you comply with the revised Fair Labor Standards Act.
  
  
• Pay—If you miss listing any of the nine required categories on an employee's pay stub, you could be held liable.
  
  
• Notice and postings—Make sure you follow CLC provisions for notices, including where and how to make them, as well as keep them up-to-date.
  
  
• Recordkeeping—Keep records organized, and pay attention to CLC's provisions dictating the location and length of time records and documents should be kept.

Possible penalties for violations include paying the plaintiff's attorney fees and litigation costs, as well as $100-$200 for each employee for each pay period the violation occurred. This allows for a potential situation where an employee keeps a violation secret as the amount of his possible damage awards accumulate.

NAHB offers safety training

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and NAHB Research Center are offering safety and health-management seminars to roofing contractors, home builders and other trade contractors. Funded by a U.S. Department of Labor grant, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the four-hour seminars are offered this month through September in 12 locations across the United States.

The seminars focus on safety and health issues, including how to develop and successfully implement company safety and health programs and why such programs are important. The seminars will help attendees learn how to establish effective safety procedures, understand their responsibilities, reduce workers' compensation insurance premiums and more.

Attendees receive a CD-ROM with a how-to guide, as well as a student manual. For more information, visit www.nahbrc.org/safetyseminars.

Industry sponsors cancer study

Industry organizations signed an agreement May 13 to conduct a "Case-control study of lung cancer nested in the IARC Multicentric Cohort Study of European Asphalt Workers." The agreement was signed by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), as well as NRCA, European Asphalt Paving Association, National Asphalt Pavement Association, Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association and other European organizations.

Funded by 2.2 million euros from the participating groups, the study began in June and is anticipated to be finished in 2006 or 2007. It is the second phase of the "International Epidemiological Study on Cancer among Asphalt Workers," which took place in 2001.

The study will focus on a detailed investigation of past exposures and other risk factors for about 2,500 workers, as well as their exposures during employment in industries other than the asphalt industry.

Don't break your back

Although lifting objects may seem like a harmless task, back injuries often happen in the workplace, leading to work absences. Here are some tips from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Arlington Heights, Ill., to help employees avoid back injuries; employees should:

• Keep objects close to their bodies when lifting, evenly distributing the load with their arms.
  
  
• Rotate their entire bodies when lifting instead of twisting or reaching.
  
  
• Avoid working for long stretches of time and take breaks.
  
  
• Avoid pushing themselves if a load is too heavy. They should ask someone for help or, if possible, break a load into smaller loads.
  
  
• Follow a well-known piece of advice: "Bend with your knees and not your back."

Attention to lifestyle also can ensure a lifting experience is safe, including eating healthfully; drinking water frequently; exercising, especially the abdominal muscles; not smoking; and getting sufficient sleep.

Source: Adapted from Safety+Health as cited in First Draft, June issue.

MDI and polyol prices increase

The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., increased its prices for pure and polymeric MDI products by 9 cents per pound and its VORANOL,™ VORALUX™ and SPECFLEX™ polyether and co-polymer polyols by 7 cents per pound on June 1. Dow also increased the price of VORANATE™ toluene diisocyanate by 8 cents per pound.

These increases apply to all coatings, adhesives, flexibles, sealants, elastomers, end-use applications and rigid market segments in the United States and Canada.

It is anticipated MDI and polyol products will be in tight supply because of continuous growing demand.