On 1 May 2023, the U.S. Department of Labour announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) to reduce or eliminate injuries and fatalities associated with falls while working at heights in all industries.
The NEP became effective immediately, and it applies to all industries.
It aims to achieve its goals through enforcement (including hazard-based inspection targeting and optional locally-generated programmed targeting in construction), outreach to employers, and compliance assistance.
On 28 March 2023, Eurofound published a new research report showing how many countries have addressed labour shortages through more robust labour market policies and education and training measures focused on the skills and occupations demanded in the labour market.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB ) recently held, in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58, that an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) with severance agreements containing overly broad non-disparagement and confidentiality of agreement clauses with employees.
The decision states that offering employees such kind of agreement restricts their ability to exercise their rights to self-organisation, join labour organizations, and engage in "other concerted activities" to improve the workplace.
On 23 March 2023, the NLRB General Counsel issued a memorandum (Memorandum GC 23-05) to guide the issue, taking an expansive view of the decision.
ILO recently launched two new instruments to support member states and social partners in developing, formulating, implementing, financing, and reviewing employment policies in line with current and future challenges at both global and national levels.
On 23 February 2023, the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency reported that the national gender pay gap has dropped to 13.3% and, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), women earn, on average, 87 cents for every $1 made by a man.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has released advice on mental health and well-being in the heavy vehicle transport industry.
It is relevant for all parties in the chain of responsibility (CoR), especially employers, and outlines practical steps to increase awareness of these and create a mentally healthy workplace.
On February 2023, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a report assessing the framework for the impact evaluation of active labour market policies (ALMPs) in Finland.
It covers the whole cycle of evidence-based policymaking from strategy and planning of evaluations, resources, data collection, and evaluation methodologies to disseminating evidence and uses in policymaking.
A technical report accompanies the report on evaluation results.
The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority presented its draft guidance on the privacy aspects of monitoring remote work, offering clarifications and recommendations for the conduct of organisations on this issue.