Safety Matters

2020 U.S. Worker Injury & Illness Report Released

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has issued the 2020 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). The SOII presents estimates of counts and incidence rates of private industry employer-reported nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses. Solid waste landfill employees saw a decrease in injuries and illnesses in 2020, going down to 3.4 incidents per 100 full time employees, the lowest rate since 2006. MRF incident rates increased from 3.6 to 5.1 in 2020, while solid waste collection continued a three-year decline to 5.2 from 5.8. 

The 2020 injury and illness survey represents the first year for which COVID-19 workplace illnesses were reported in the United States. Solid waste collection workers had an illness rate of 22.0 per 100 full-time workers compared to 7.0 in 2019 and 17.0 in 2018. The rate was higher in 2016 at 23.4. The incident rate for respiratory illness specifically, which includes COVID-19, went up significantly to 14.5 in 2020 compared to 1.0 the year before.

For solid waste landfill workers, the illness rate increased to 19.9 from the year before but was still higher in 2017 when it was 20.2. Respiratory illness data was not shown in the initial data release. For MRFs, illness data as a whole was not made available, but the rate of injury or illness cases requiring days away from work, job transfer, or restriction increased from 2.8 to 3.

Across all industries, there were 2.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020, down from 2.8 million in 2019, a decrease of 5.7 percent. The decline in injury and illness cases was due to a drop in injury cases, with private industry employers reporting 2.1 million nonfatal injuries in 2020, compared to 2.7 million in 2019. At the same time, total reported illness cases more than quadrupled to 544,600 cases. This increase was driven by a nearly 4,000 percent increase in employer reported respiratory illness cases in 2020.

On December 16, BLS will provide results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during calendar year 2020.

OSHA Issues Vaccine Mandate & Testing Requirements, Stayed by Federal Court

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers of 100 or more people to enforce a COVID-19 vaccination policy. Employers can elect to require all workers to be vaccinated or require unvaccinated workers to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work. The ETS has been temporarily stayed pending court review, but employer should be ready to comply with the standard if and when it should go into effect. 

The requirement to verify negative test results for unvaccinated workers begins on January 4, 2022, but employers must offer paid time off for vaccination and recovery, require face coverings for unvaccinated employees, and confirm worker vaccination status by December 6, 2021. SWANA will continue to provide updates to members as they develop.

Accidents in the News

Through 10/31/21

Brooklyn, NY – A woman crossing a street about 8:45 am was struck and run over by a turning sanitation truck and later died from the injuries sustained. MORE

Corpus Christi, TX – At around 11:30 am, a 24-year-old man riding an electric scooter was struck and killed by a turning garbage truck. MORE

Redding, CA – A 56-year-old woman sleeping in an alleyway was run over by a garbage truck collecting waste at around 8:00 a.m. MORE

West Sunbury, PA – At around 2:45 pm, a woman drove across the centerline and crashed into an oncoming garbage truck. MORE

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