National custodial services provider Diversified Maintenance Systems LLC will pay $450,000 and adopt a targeted hiring plan to resolve EEOC allegations that it refused to hire black applicants for porter and custodian jobs in the Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia region.

The settlement, which was approved Nov. 22 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, also requires Diversified to pay $300,000 for allegedly subjecting a black area manager to racial harassment and then demoting and ultimately firing him for complaining. The racial slurs and other abuse directed at Dana Fields included the N-word and the retaliation included an increased workload..

More at source: Bloomberg

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Syracuse, N.Y. - Keri Courtwright was working her usual night shift at Syracuse University last week when she was asked to clean up some racist graffiti.

When the janitor read the words -- a hateful description of Asians -- she felt angry. As she scrubbed the black marker off the wall of a university building, she wondered what she could do to fight the ugliness.

The answer that came to her in that quiet, empty hallway was simple: Spread kindness.

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Ryan Baldera, 32, was taken to a hospital, where he died. Thirteen other people -- 11 employees and two patrons -- were also hospitalized with burning eyes and difficulty breathing, the Burlington Fire Department said.

A restaurant employee put a chlorine bleach-based product, Super 8, and acid-based cleaner Scale Kleen on the kitchen floor while cleaning it, the fire department said in a news release. 

More at source: CNN

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Learn Why Green Cleaning Would Have Prevented This 

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A very special THANK YOU for your service to Members, Visitors, and their Families. IJCSA Salutes You! 

Our offices will be closed today and reopen Tuesday morning. 

A California law that requires the state’s janitorial contractors to train its staff about sexual harassment and abuse has been updated to define how the process will work.

The initial law, Assembly Bill 1978, recognized the threats faced by many women cleaning offices alone at night and increased protections by initiating a statewide program to formally address the issue. It became law Jan. 1, 2019, after it was signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newson signed AB 547, a bill that sets up training standards in the state’s Labor Code. Unlike most sexual harassment training in California, which is typically provided by attorneys, in-house human resources officials or outside consultants, janitors will learn about their rights from people who have endured similar experiences.

More at source: THE OCR

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Members of Cincinnati's SEIU Local 1 clean buildings for a number of large local corporations, county agencies and the public library.

They say they don't make enough to make ends meet and are pushing for a better contract that pays a living wage.

More at source: City Beat

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A study has found that, between 2009 and 2015, exposure to cleaning products and disinfectants was associated with a 25-38% increased risk of developing COPD in nurses – independent of asthma and smoking.

The authors of the research, published in Journal of the American Medical Association, used data from an ongoing study of 116,429 registered nurses in the US dating back to 1989.

The researchers, based in France and the US, focused on the nurses who were still practising but had no reported respiratory issues in 2009, providing a total of 73,262 participants.

The cleaning products that posed a threat include glutaraldehyde, bleach, hydrogen peroxide and alcohol.

Lead study author Dr Orianne Dumas, from University de Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, said: “We found that exposure to several chemicals were associated with increased risk of developing COPD among nurses.

Nurses are not full time cleaners, imagine the effects of chemicals on someone cleaning full time. -Matt

More at source: Nursing Times

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The judges ruled that United Services’ concern on the appeal of whether it should have been granted the two-year contract in 2016 for $1.8 million a year has already been settled without the current court’s ruling as United Services has performed contract services for more than two years after it sued in the court's Law Division.

The ruling states it performed the services for more money than it would’ve gotten if it was selected for the 2016 bid.

More at source: Legal News Line

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