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BLR launches timely election podcast, The 2016 Election and the Environment

BLR — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 07:00:00 -0400

Old Saybrook, CT, November 3, 2016: BLR^®—Business & Legal Resources has recently launched a new podcast, The 2016 Election and the Environment, as part of its EHS on Tap series.

In this episode, The 2016 Election and the Environment: Shaping Our Future, BLR environmental editor Emily Remmel discusses the upcoming presidential election and the significant environmental impact that will likely occur regardless of who wins. Ms. Remmel also speaks with Iowa Senator Rob Hogg, who has a rich history of public service in Cedar Rapids and beyond. He is currently serving his third term.

Senator Hogg has passionately advocated for policies and practices to improve natural resources and has extensive experience educating people in his home state and across the country to help them understand the dangers of climate change. In 2013, he authored America’s Climate Century, a book detailing what climate change means for America in the 21st century and what to do about it.

Additional discussion topics include:

Climate change: Is it a real scientific occurrence or merely a hoax?
The EPA and its future existence
The election and the impact on U.S. Supreme Court nominees
The Keystone XL and the current controversy over the North Dakota Access Pipeline
Fracking
Lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan
Renewable energy

The podcast 2016 Election and the Environment: Shaping Our Future aired Monday, October 31. Visit Enviro.BLR.com to listen.

About EHS on Tap

EHS on Tap is an environmental, health, and safety podcast by BLR. During each episode of EHS on Tap, host Emily Remmel discusses emerging legal, regulatory, and policy issues with industry experts and the impact on everyday environmental and safety professionals. EHS on Tap runs the gamut of contemporary environmental issues, including water, air, and waste, as well as a wide variety of safety issues.

Download EHS on Tap episodes on SoundCloud and in the iTunes Store.

About BLR

Since 1975, BLR has been one of the nation’s leading information providers by offering authoritative content, training, and practical, easy-to-use tools in workplace safety, environmental compliance, compensation and benefits, health care, HR & employment law, and politics and legal markets. BLR offers solutions for business owners, executives, employees, and managers for all-sized organizations and industries. Simply put, anyone worried about how their local state agency or national DOL, OSHA, and EPA legal requirements impact their organization can benefit from BLR.

Contact: Felicia Lorenzo

Phone: 800-727-5257, Ext. 2218

E-mail: florenzo@blr.com

BLR partners with VelocityEHS for Safety Data Sheet Content

BLR — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 12:09:00 -0400

Old Saybrook, CT, June 22, 2016: BLR®—Business & Legal Resources has recently partnered with VelocityEHS, the leading cloud environment, health, safety (EHS), and sustainability software provider, to give its customers access to the industry-leading database of safety data sheets (also known as SDSs or material safety data sheets, MSDSs). Through the partnership, Safety.BLR.com® and Enviro.BLR.com® subscribers now have the ability to search, view, and print documents from VelocityEHS’ MSDSonline library of millions of searchable SDSs.

“We’re very excited to announce this partnership with VelocityEHS and its MSDSonline solutions. It brings our customers yet another timesaving health and safety resource, giving them access to safety data sheets from the known leader in SDS content, which is becoming increasingly important as companies work to ensure compliance with OSHA’s now fully GHS-aligned Hazard Communication Standard,” said Rafael Cardoso, Executive Vice President, Workforce Division at BLR.

The millions of safety data sheets in the MSDSonline database contain the information safety and EHS professionals need to mitigate the potential risks from dangerous chemicals such as methanol, acetone, hydrochloric acid, and millions of other hazardous substances. Safety data sheets underwent substantial re-formatting changes as part of OSHA’s alignment of the Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom) with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System (GHS). Following OSHA’s final GHS deadline, which just passed on June 1, 2016, companies are expected to provide employees with access to manufacturers’ updated SDSs in the GHS-format to ensure HazCom compliance.

“Our goal is to help businesses meet their EHS goals faster,” said Glenn Trout, president and CEO of VelocityEHS. “We are proud to be chosen by BLR as their SDS content provider, helping their customers have better access to the critical chemical information they need to keep workers safe and to help ensure compliance with the historical GHS changes to OSHA’s HazCom Standard. We look forward to continuing to work with BLR to strengthen its chemical safety offerings, and ultimately, make workplaces safer for all. We believe that delivering the right functionality, through well-designed and simple solutions, is the key to helping you drive performance and engagement throughout your organization.”

You can learn more by visiting https://safety.blr.com.

About VelocityEHS

In 2015, MSDSonline and KMI, two EHS industry leaders, joined forces to form VelocityEHS, which aims to make enterprise-level EHS functionality accessible and affordable to businesses of all sizes. More than 12,000 customers worldwide, from virtually every industry, trust VelocityEHS and its solutions to improve EHS performance. The company offers a comprehensive, cloud-based EHS management software platform that helps businesses solve complex EHS challenges in simple ways. Its quick implementations, affordable solutions and unparalleled customer support, make it possible for customers to reach their EHS goals faster. VelocityEHS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with locations in Canada, the UK and Australia. For more information, visit www.EHS.com. VelocityEHS is an Actua (Nasdaq: ACTA) company.

About BLR®—Business & Legal Resources

For over 35 years, BLR has simplified compliance with state and federal legal requirements, helping U.S. businesses succeed. BLR offers authoritative content, training, and practical, easy-to-use tools for the Hr & employment law, workplace safety, environmental compliance, compensation & benefits, and politics & legal markets. Through our expert in-house editors and exclusive attorney network, we provide the most comprehensive, reliable state-specific information available—and we do it in all 50 states. Our award-winning information products—including training programs, events, web portals, reports and subscription services-give businesses of all sizes and industries the best tools available at affordable prices.

Media Contact: Felicia Lorenzo
Phone: 800-727-5257, Ext. 2218
Email: florenzo@blr.com

New Women's Equality Day Slideshow Focuses on Workplace Issues

BLR — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 10:23:18 -0400

August 26 is Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. Women's Equality Day also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality in all aspects of life, including employment.

In a new HR.BLR.com slideshow, we provide a brief history of Women's Equality Day and a timeline regarding women's rights in the workplace. We also take a closer look at the hottest, current women's issues related to employment—including equal pay, sex discrimination, and pregnancy discrimination—that are the basis for recently introduced (and in some cases recently enacted) state and national legislation.

Note:Once you click start, you can use the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to scroll through the slideshow, or use the autoplay feature at the bottom right hand corner of the screen

New State Minimum Wage Increase Map for 2014-2015

BLR — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 10:02:13 -0400

Employers get ready! As explained in a new article by BLR Legal Editor Susan Prince, J.D., minimum wage increases will affect numerous states across the country during the remainder of 2014 and into 2015.

Our new interactive map shows the states that are increasing their minimum wages over the next 12 months, including the new rate and amount of the increase. Susan's article also provides a listing of the states increasing their minimum wages and the effective dates of the changes.

Infographic: 2014 employee performance appraisal practices

BLR — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 08:10:47 -0400

In a new 2014 BLR Performance Management survey, 76% of 1,481 survey participants rate their employer's performance appraisals with a grade of "C" or lower.

Participants in the Performance Management survey also provided information regarding performance factors for exempt and nonexempt employees, details about their evaluation process, the roles that employees and supervisors play in the process, as well as pay practices for individual and group performance.

The infographic below contains a "Performance Evaluation Report Card" showing the overall ratings participants gave their organizations, HR's responsibilities in the evaluation process, the link between performance and pay, and more.