August 2025

Webinar Registration Open - How to Get Started: Developing Your Health and Safety Program

Join SAFE and SafeLink Consulting for an informative and engaging webinar on Wednesday, August 14, 2025, at noon CT. This session will not only explain the legal requirements for workplace safety but also empower employers to build a strong safety culture that protects their most valuable asset — their people. While OSHA mandates that employers maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards, fostering a proactive approach to health and safety is essential to creating a truly safe and productive work environment.

This course will guide participants through the essential first steps of building a workplace health and safety program, beginning with hazard assessment and progressing to the development of a written plan. While safety programs should be customized to each work environment, the process for initiating and maintaining these programs follows consistent, proven principles across industries.

Mary A. Bartlett, Senior Compliance Advisor with SafeLink Consulting Inc. and SAFE’s health and safety partner, will present this course. Participants will also receive a practical checklist to help begin the process. Additionally, SAFE offers access to SafeLink Consulting for virtual health and safety guidance both before and after the course — a resource included as part of SAFE’s commitment to supporting your health and safety efforts.

Course Objectives

✔ Understand why workplace health and safety matters
✔ Know employer responsibilities under OSHA
✔ Identify and assess workplace hazards
✔ Learn key elements of a written safety program
✔ Access tools and resources for success
✔ Take steps to build or improve your program

*This is a member benefit and free for members

How To Develop Competitive Compensation Packages That Attract and Retain Top Talent

Competitive and well-rounded compensation packages are critical for attracting and retaining top talent while a poorly designed plan can actually demotivate key employees and lead them to look elsewhere.

Employers may have noticed that the goal posts have move a little since Covid, with workers increasingly asking: “How will this job support my life and career?” When compensation accurately reflects an employee’s value and leads to financial stability, employees are much more likely to feel they are fairly compensated, which lays the groundwork for a long, rewarding partnership between employer and employee.

Creating an initial strategic compensation structure involves four components, keeping in mind that it’s important not to create a package and then leave it in place indefinitely. Compensation packages should adapt to changes in the job market, competitor pay trends, and the rising cost of living.

Heat Illness Prevention

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers are responsible for providing workplaces free of known safety and health hazards. This includes protecting workers from heat-related hazards. Here are some actions you should take:

Create a Heat Illness Prevention Plan

Are your workers exposed to high temperatures, either indoors or outside? Use these resources to develop a heat illness prevention program:

• When heat hazards are present, plan ahead to protect workers.

• Understand heat hazards in your workplace and calculate heat stress.

• Protect new workers

• Get guidance on engineering controls, work practices, and PPE

• Remember water, rest, and shade

How self-audits help build a culture of compliance and trust

By: Keith Sonderling the Deputy Secretary of Labor

At the U.S. Department of Labor, we are committed to helping employers, unions, and plan administrators follow the law. That’s why I’m proud to announce the launch of our expanded self-audit compliance assistance initiative.

Many of our agencies offer self-audit programs, which are voluntary tools to help the regulated community proactively assess and improve compliance with the labor laws we enforce. If you run a small business, administer an employee benefit plan, represent a labor organization, or lead workplace safety and health efforts, our self-audit tools can guide you in building safer, fairer, and more transparent workplaces.

Self-audits enable you to identify and fix potential violations, reduce the likelihood of litigation, and demonstrate a good-faith commitment to following the law. They also help ensure that workers get the protections and benefits they are entitled to — like timely wages, fair and safe working conditions, and benefits security...

Member Savings Spotlight

New season, new supplies! Stay ahead with ODP with deals on must-haves like planners, printer ink, and tech accessories—just for members! Order today and start fresh this fall. //bit.ly/ODP_SAFE|

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