• Last week, the FDA approved and the CDC recommended the updated Novavax vaccine against COVID-19. The new Novavax is formulated to combat the same recently circulating variants as the updated Modern and Pfizer vaccines, but Novavax is a non-mRNA vaccine. Novavax is a great option for community members who may not want an mRNA vaccine.
  • After the New York Times Magazine revealed child labor in poultry plants on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the Department of Labor has opened investigations into these allegations of violating child labor laws by Perdue & Tyson.
  • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend H-2A and H-2B regulations to give workers greater flexibility in changing employers, leaving abusive jobs, and reporting violations of their rights. You can read the full proposal and submit a comment here. DHS is accepting comments on the proposed rule through November 20, 2023.

Download the video in English and Spanish.

Download the audio in English and Spanish.
  • Do you know a health and safety hero? Nominate someone or an organization who has made contributions to workplace safety for a National COSH Health and Safety Activist Award by Friday, October 27, and find out who won during COSHCON2023 on December 7.
  • The Dorchester County Department of Health has a variety of current job openings. Check out the information for details.  
  • A new survey of over 3,000 immigrants conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Los Angeles Times focused on the experiences of immigrants  in the U.S., and a few findings were particularly relevant to occupational health & workers’ rights.
    • Black and Hispanic immigrants are the most likely of any immigrant group survey to experience discrimination at work.
    • Over half of survey respondents (53%) indicated that their limited English proficiency is a barrier to accessing healthcare, and 1 in 4 immigrants reported discrimination related to their immigrant status when eating healthcare.
  • Review the full summary here, with links available to the two related reports that were published analyzing survey findings.  

  • North Carolina will be expanding Medicaid eligibility on December 1, and the Department of Health and Human Services has launched a website in English and Spanish to help explain the expansion. Outreach materials to inform community members of the expansion are also available in English and Spanish on the website.
  • This Thursday, October 12, at 6 PM ET, National COSH will host a forum titled, “Workers Injured @ Work Speakout.” Register here.
  • Join the Latinx Task Force, Marked by COVID, and Project Pulso on Friday, October 20, at 4 PM ET in kicking off the LUCHAR Initiative with, “Untold Stories: COVID’s Impact on Latinx Communities and their Resilience,” a webinar on the power of storytelling. The event is the first of three Task Force’s Latinx Health Strategies Webinars addressing the disproportionate health impacts faced by Hispanic and Latinx communities in the United States. Register here!
  • Check out the upcoming webinars in the Prevention Research Center’s series that focus on cultural congruence in health services for immigrant communities.
If you have questions about labor rights in the United States and COVID-19, Sol is ready to answer them at covid-chat.org