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Construction Site Safety Considerations for Spring

As the winter season—and the frigid conditions that accompany it—officially concludes, construction employers like you can start preparing for spring projects. Nevertheless, spring weather comes with its own set of risks. After all, this season is often the most difficult to navigate in the scope of working outdoors. Between fluctuating temperatures, frequent rain showers, fog, heavy winds and lightning concerns, it’s important to be aware of spring-related hazards and how to best protect your workforce from these seasonal issues. As such, consider these worksite safety considerations for spring:

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Risk Insights header image Since March 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has provided emergency exemptions and waivers for regulations to support COVID-19 emergency relief efforts.

The FMCSA has provided waivers and exemptions for hours-of-service rules, preemployment drug testing, driving skills tests, and renewals for commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), commercial learners’ permits (CLPs) and medical certifications. During this time, employers that helped with national emergency efforts and used these waivers or exemptions for their drivers may not have kept up with the documentation necessary for their drivers’ files. It is important for employers to understand that, if they used any of these exemptions or waivers, it should be documented in their drivers’ files, and any paperwork or license updates should be completed as soon as possible.

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring forth a variety of questions for businesses. Employers can take a number of preventive steps to help keep employees safe, but they should also prepare to respond to various situations that can occur in the workplace.

This article provides COVID-19 general business FAQs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These FAQs build on the CDC’s interim guidance for businesses and employers and its guidance for critical infrastructure workers. The CDC’s guidance is intended to supplement—not replace—federal, state and local mandates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

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News Brief header The National Safety Council (NSC) has released preliminary data showing vehicle fatalities in 2020 increased by 24% compared to 2007 and 8% compared to 2019.

It’s estimated that more than 42,060 people died in vehicle crashes in 2020 across the country. This increase is the highest year-overyear jump the NSC has calculated since 1924. The NSC attributes the fatality increases to drivers speeding and driving more recklessly due to roads being less congested as a result of the pandemic. Drivers also continue to engage in riskier behaviors, such as driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and failing to wear a seat belt.

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Ransomware attacks—which entail a cybercriminal deploying malicious software to compromise a device (or multiple devices) and demand a large payment be made before restoring the technology for the victim—have become a significant concern for organizations across industry lines.

In fact, the latest research provides that these attacks have increased by nearly 140% in the past year alone, with the median ransom payment demand totaling $178,000 and the average overall loss from such an attack exceeding $1 million.