The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "workplace" ...
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Model Workplaces, Imperiled Workers
The Center's series exposed serious problems with an ever-expanding government program that promises results through cooperative regulation but often has failed to protect the nation's working men and women. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Programs, known as VPP, recognize "model workplaces" and offer them an exemption from regular inspections. But in many cases, this government stamp of approval was a hollow trophy, allowing companies to avoid scrutiny and to attract employees. Even after preventable tragedies at these sites, OSHA rarely cracked down.
Tags: OSHA; occupational safety and health administration voluntary protection program; model workplace
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U.S. Fails to Proect Workers in Anarctica
Anartica is a land that conjures images of brave explorers and dedicated scientists striving amid stark beauty. But an in-depth investigation reveals that is also a place where workplace safety severely lags, and injured workers face unforeseen obstacles to get compensation.
Tags: Worker's Compensation; Anartica; Obstacles; Workplace Safety
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"Lifesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences"
This investigative piece looks at worker safety issues that affect "the nation's healthcare providers." Health care employees are often put in harms way by handling drugs that are meant to save the "lives of cancer patients," but can be "human carcinogens," too. This report shows that regulation on exposure to these types of drugs in the workplace is weak.
Tags: FOIA; health insurance; Occupational Safety and Health Administration; cancer; OSHA; drugs; chemotherapy
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Public Works, Hidden Violations
Several construction companies were given "tens of millions in federal stimulus contracts," even though they violated several laws and regulations. Also, a few had been "convicted of defrauding taxpayers on previous projects" and others had previously paid fines for violating regulations. These should have been revealed when filling out the forms to be approved for the stimulus contracts.
Tags: transportation; workplace; safety; pollution; environment; FOIA; Highway Division; officials; federal government; federal funds
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Freedom/Fear
"This story is a comprehensive survey of how post-September 11th security measures have impacted life in all its facets across New York City, from the workplace to the library to the airport to the courtroom to Muslim neighborhoods to political protests."
Tags: Arabic; NYPD; anti-terrorism; civil liberties; Patriot Act;
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What Really Happened at Fire Station 5?
"These stories followed a year in the life of the Los Angeles Fire Department as it fought claims of racial, gender and workplace discrimination. The stories also centered on teh City Attorney's Office and how it handlede the bulk of lawsuits and claims -- amidst public outrage."
Tags: fire department; city government; harrassment; courts; discrimination
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Clout's Sick List
"A Chicago Sun-Times computer-assisted analysis found that patronage workers in Chicago city government filed workplace injury claims at a rate that if true, would make being a political patronage worker in Chicago the most dangerous occupation in America. The series found that patronage workers filed worker's compensation claims against the city at a rate experts deemed implausible and city officials acknowledged was problematic. By doing so, these workers were able to stay home- or, in some cases the newspaper found, work other jobs- while collecting 75 percent of their city pay, tax-free. Many of these workers have claimed repeated workplace injuries. And many have been off work for years."
Tags: workplace; injuries; political patrongage; workplace-injury claims
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Fatal Elevator Flaws
This story looked at the effect of privatized inspections on elevator safety in Florida. The author found that one in five elevators was operating without a current operating certificate, and that many had not been inspected in years. The investigation showed how at least one fatal accident could have been prevented if the regulations were followed more closely.
Tags: elevator; workplace safety; inspection; government contracts; state government; FOIA
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Ohio's Nuclear Legacy: troubled past, uncertain future
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is "in the midst of a multibillion environmental cleanup that may eventually be the most expensive ever in Ohio. Meanwhile, untold numbers of sick workers are seeking compensation for their workplace illness, some dying before the government acts on their claims. The story revealed how the Department of Energy ignored state and federal environmental laws- even barring regulators from the plant site- then enforced a code of silence that kept the plant's practices a secret."
Tags: nuclear; environmental laws; Department of Energy; USEC Inc.;
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Dying For a Job
While workplace insurance boards across Canada claimed workplaces are safer, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigated workplace safety. They found that "the number of workplace deaths had increased by about 7 percent from 1993 to 2004." In addition, coroners' suggestions on making workplaces safer for workers have largely been ignored, and are "not shared from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in a manner that would help make their workplaces safer." The investigation also found that health care and social services workers were in more danger than others, "anywhere from six to 12 times more likely to file claims related to violence on the job, mainly from patients." This is higher than even the rate for police and security.
Tags: Worker's compensation; workplace safety; worker safety; labor laws; on-the-job injuries; Canadian workplaces