Inside this issue
• Berry Column - page 2
• Workplace Worries - page 3
• Deadly Mistakes - page 3
• Safety Workshops - page 3
• Subscription Information - page 4
May 2002
Vol. 10 • Number 5
Agency Recognizes Top Apprentices
‘Tried and True’ Program Is a Benefit to Businesses and Workers
The N.C. Department of Labor recognized the outstanding accomplishments
of several apprentices across the state
during its 18th Annual Apprenticeship
and Training Forum near Research
Triangle Park.
The forum, an annual event sponsored
by the N.C. Department of Labor, brings
together business people, craftsmen,
educators, state officials and others to
discuss ways to promote and enhance
apprenticeship and on-the-job training
in North Carolina.
“Apprenticeships are tried and true,”
said N.C. Labor Commissioner Cherie
Berry. “An apprenticeship program is
an investment that pays big dividends.
It benefits the worker and the economy.
Everyone benefits.”
Winners included outstanding fourth-year
apprentices Michael Wallace, an
electrician apprentice with RaleighDurham JATC in Research Triangle
Park; Jessica Brevard, a pipefitter
apprentice with JATC Plumbers &
Pipefitters, Local 421, in Raleigh; Chad
E. Bowles, a mold maker apprentice with
Tyco Electronics in Greensboro; Eugene
W. Yelton, a maintenance mechanic
apprentice with Baxter Healthcare Corp.
of Marion; and Clayton E. Brass III,
N.C. Department of Labor
4 W. Edenton St.
Raleigh, NC 27601-1092
Dr. Leo Coleman
addresses attendees at
the Apprenticeship
and Training Forum.
a pneudraulics system mechanic with
the U.S. Marine Corps Naval Aviation
Depot in Cherry Point.
Third-year outstanding apprentices
were Timothy D. Harrison, a maintenance mechanic apprentice with Baxter
Healthcare Corp. in Marion; Anita Y.
Williams, a cook apprentice with the
U.S. Army in Fayetteville; James A.
Mathes, a maintenance mechanic
apprentice with Baxter Healthcare
Corp. in Marion; Baxter R. Owens,
an aircraft mechanic apprentice with
the U.S. Marine Corps/Naval Aviation
Depot in Cherry Point; Ron Carr, an
HVAC service technician apprentice
with Newcomb and Co. in Raleigh;
Michael L. Sondys, a chemical plant
operator III apprentice with PCS
Phosphate in Aurora; and Daren L.
Brewer, a maintenance mechanic
apprentice with Baxter Healthcare
Corp. in Marion.
Second-year apprentice winners were
Derek C. Spransy, a network support
specialist apprentice with the Orange
County Board of Education in
Hillsborough; Douglas A. Varley, a
senior development technician apprentice
Continued on page 2
NCDOL Offers Training to
Improve Funeral Home Safety
The N.C. Department of Labor has
stepped up its efforts to boost safety for
funeral home employees.
The department’s Division of
Occupational Safety and Health is
offering eduPRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
cation and
PAID
Permit No. 154
training sesRaleigh, NC
sions along
with consultative services.
It has also
increased its
focus
on
funeral home inspections. The move
stems from a review that revealed a
variety of safety and health violations
during funeral home inspections nationwide. There are approximately 630
funeral homes in North Carolina.
Department officials wanted to address
the issue quickly in order to enhance
worker safety. Workshops on funeral
home safety and health have been an
important outreach tool.
“We thought it would be helpful to the
industry to provide workshops explaining
Continued on page 4
Agency Recognizes Apprentices
Continued from page 1
with PCS Phosphate in Aurora; David
P. Horne, an operator A chief apprentice
with PCS Phosphate in Aurora; and
Jeremy Strauss, an electrician apprentice
with Bryant-Durham Electric Co. Inc.
in Durham.
From Commissioner Berry
Recently, our Department of Labor held
its 18th Annual Apprenticeship Forum.
I want to mention this because there is
a story, along with a list of winners, in
this edition of the Labor Ledger. One
of the things I have been most proud of
is our fine apprenticeship forum. When
you review all of this year’s winners,
notice that they hail from various
regions of our fine state. Diversity
makes our employers and educators
top-notch.
Apprenticeships are so very important.
They provide a link to the future for
employers, prospective employees and
educators. They help businesses grow.
And, perhaps most importantly, they
provide experience.
Thanks to everyone who participated
in the forum and to all of those of you
who helped put it together in 2002.
I look forward to next year!
Commissioner of Labor
Cherie K. Berry
Commissioner
4 W. Edenton St.
Raleigh, NC 27601-1092
Labor Ledger is published monthly by the
N.C. Department of Labor for North Carolina
employers and employees.
Editor ........................................Greg Cook
Business Mgr .........................Nancy Baird
Layout and Design ..................Jeff Wilson
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Annual subscriptions are available for $10.
Please direct inquiries to the N.C.
Department of Labor, Communications
Division, (919) 733-0363, or call
1-800-NC-LABOR. Visit our Web site at …
http://www.nclabor.com
2
Outstanding first-year apprentices were
Mike K. Hensley, a maintenance
mechanic apprentice with Baxter
Healthcare Corp. in Marion; Kelly
Wilson, a pipefitter apprentice with
Inco Inc. in Rocky Mount; and Wayne
R. Clark, a maintenance mechanic
apprentice with Baxter Healthcare
Corp. in Marion.
Outstanding high school apprentices
were Philip Jones, reporter/journalist
apprentice with the Wilson Daily
Times, Wilson. Jones is a student at
Wilson Fike High School. Adam L.
Cratt, automotive technician apprentice
with Wynne’s Chevrolet Inc. in Bethel.
Cratt is a student at Roanoke High
School. Brandi L. Taylor, pharmacy
technician apprentice with Foster Drug
Co. Inc. in Mocksville. Taylor is student
at Davie High School. James M.
Holliday, an industrial maintenance
technician apprentice with McMurray
Fabrics Inc. of Jamesville. Holliday is
a student at Jamesville High School.
Joshua T. Gurkin, an administrative
assistant apprentice with Edward Jones
in Washington. Gurkin is a student at
Washington High School. Jason L.
Thompson, an automotive technician
apprentice with Westcott Buick/Isuzu/
GMC in Gibsonville. Thompson is a
student at Western Alamance High
School. Kevin A. McMullen, a cabinet
maker apprentice with Sloan Cabinet
Shop in Mount Olive. McMullen is a
student at Southern Wayne High School.
Garrett L. Hood, a bricklayer apprentice with McGee Brothers Co. Inc. in
Monroe. Hood is a student at Central
Cabarrus High School. Andy Harvell,
a high performance fabricator technician apprentice with PPI Motor Sports,
LLC, in Hickory. Harvell is a student at
Newton-Conover High School.
The N.C. Department of Labor also
recognized outstanding apprentice programs. Those programs were Penn
Engineering Fastener Division,
Winston-Salem; Moen Inc., Sanford
Plant, Sanford; Triad Electrical
Apprenticeship Council, High Point;
and Raleigh-Durham Electrical
JATC, Research Triangle Park.
Outstanding on-the-job programs were
Henry Wurst Inc. of Apex and U.S.
Marine Corp., Naval Aviation Depot,
Cherry Point.
Outstanding individuals contributing to
apprenticeship were Norman D. House,
Martin County School System,
Williamston; Donald N. Hildebrand,
PCS Phosphate, Aurora; Carolyn
Milliron, Carolina’s Associated
General Contractors, Charlotte; Chris
Pake, Nash-Rocky Mount Schools,
Rocky Mount; and Edward G.
Drescher, UA Plumbers & Pipefitters
Local 421, Raleigh.
The outstanding high school system
was Alamance-Burlington School
System, Burlington.
Those receiving honorary trademaster
awards were Billy E. Pearson, a maintenance mechanic with Baxter
Healthcare in Marion; Ricky A.
Mohn, a mechanic trades trademaster
with Corning Inc. in Wilmington; and
Gary L. Lewis, an instrument electrician
with Corning Inc. in Wilmington.
The department named the following
as outstanding master craftsmen: Ross
L. Bell with PCS Phosphate in Aurora;
Patrick A. Bucksot with PCS
Phosphate in Aurora; Anthony B.
Fulcher Jr. with PCS Phosphate in
Aurora; Terry C. Gordon with PCS
Phosphate in Aurora; and Barry W.
Hodowanic, also with PCS Phosphate
in Aurora.
PCS Phosphate in Aurora also was
named as the outstanding master craftsman program.
Q. If an employee is required to be on
call, are there laws that ensure the
employee will be paid for that time?
A. Generally, an employer must pay its
employees either the minimum wage
(currently $5.15 an hour under both
North Carolina and federal labor laws)
or an employee’s promised rate of pay
(including a salary), whichever is
greater, and time and a half overtime
pay based on an employee’s regular
rate of pay for all hours worked in
excess of 40 in a workweek unless the
employee is exempt for some reason.
On-call time is generally not considered work time even if you have to
carry a pager. This is usually true even
if an employee has to stay in the same
county or within a radius of a certain
number of miles from the employer’s
place of business and be required to
wear a pager. On-call time becomes
hours worked when an employee is
required to remain on call at the
employer’s place of business or so
close to the business that the employee
cannot use the time effectively for the
employee’s own purposes. If the oncall time is not work time, then the
employer is not required to pay the
employee who is on-call for this time
unless there is a promise to do so. You
need to review the federal rules on
hours worked including on-call time in
Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 785
(we have adopted this federal rule). The
on-call time rules are found in 785.17.
Q. How do I file a wage and hour
complaint?
A. To file a wage complaint with this
office, you can call us locally at (919)
807-2796 or (toll-free in NC only) 1800-NC-LABOR (1-800-625-2267).
An information specialist will either
it collapsed. He died
11 days later.
WHAT HAPPENED: Three
employees, under their supervisor’s
guidance, were demolishing a vehicular bridge 23 feet above a railroad
track. The railroad was anxious to
have the job completed as quickly as
possible because soil erosion and
disintegration of structural members
had caused the bridge to shift.
At the time of the accident the central flooring had been removed and
two workers were on the remaining
wooden walkway when they felt the
bridge move. The supervisor noticed
the movement also and called to
both men to get off the bridge. One
worker ran to safety, but the other
froze and fell with the bridge when
F I N D I N G S :
Following its inspection, occupational
safety and health
investigators cited the
employer for one serious violation
for failing to conduct an engineering
survey of the structure before
permitting employees to begin work.
RECOMMENDATIONS: An
engineering survey of structures to
determine their condition and the
answer your questions, refer you to
another agency or to a private attorney,
or take your wage complaint information over the telephone. If you are
owed back wages, you may also take
your own legal action in court, including small claims court if applicable, but
you cannot come back to us to file a
wage complaint if you take court action
on your own. However, if you file a
wage complaint with this office and we
cannot resolve your complaint, you
may still take legal action on your own.
Safety Workshops
The N.C. Department of Labor,
Occupational Safety and Health
Division, has developed 10-hour
awareness workshops specifically for
N.C. businesses. The workshops are
designed to provide an introduction to
the safety standards for general industry
or the construction industry. Safety
experts will present each topic at the
workshop. NCDOL offers the workshops
through the state community college
Continued on page 4
possibility of unplanned collapse
should be obtained before permitting
employees to start demolition operation. A written record of the survey
should be maintained [29 CFR
1926.850(a)].
SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE:
* OSHA General Industry Standards
[CFR parts 1900-1910] and OSHA
Construction Standards [CFR Part
1926], which together include all
OSHA job safety and health rules
and regulations covering construction. In North Carolina, employers
can call the N.C. Department of
Labor at 1-800-NC-LABOR or the
department’s Education and Training
Office, (919) 807-2875. Those seeking
on-site consultative visits may call
(919) 807-2899.
Information for Deadly Mistakes
was provided by the federal
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
3
Improved Funeral Home Safety
Safety Workshops
Continued from page 1
Continued from page 3
why their industry is receiving more
attention and teaching them to recognize
the more common OSH violations,”
said Kevin O’Barr, education and training specialist with the N.C. Department
of Labor.
Education and training, consultative visits
and compliance inspections are components of an approach that is similar to
the department’s special emphasis safety
programs, such as the current program
that focuses on construction. While the
funeral home industry is not part of a
special emphasis program per se, it is
the focus of greater attention by department personnel.
Common problems of workplace safety
in funeral homes are bloodborne
pathogen issues, hazard communication
gaps and formaldehyde violations.
sure control plans, annual training programs, and training and exposure
records. The hazard communication rule
includes labeling and material safety
data sheet availability requirements.
Formaldehyde rules require a representative sampling of employees exposed
to the chemical, periodic monitoring of
those employees based on previous
results and training.
For clarification of any OSH standard,
call (919) 807-2875 and ask to speak to
a standards officer. For additional
information on education and training
workshops for funeral home employees,
contact Kevin O’Barr at (919) 8072893. Those seeking consultative
services may contact (919) 807-2899.
Have labor-related
questions? Call …
1-800-NC-LABOR
Bloodborne pathogen rules encompass a
variety of safety topics, including expo-
system or other host organizations.
Upon completion of each workshop,
attendees will receive a 10-hour general industry or construction card.
The workshops, which are free, are
designed for safety and health professionals, training managers, operations
and plant managers, safety committee
members, supervisors, maintenance
personnel, or anyone who is responsible
for writing and implementing safety
standards in the workplace.
The first workshops are scheduled for
May 23-24 (construction) and June 5-6
(general industry). For a complete listing,
go to www.nclabor.com/calendar.htm.
For general industry workshop information, contact Lauren Kash at (919)
807-2896. For construction industry
workshop information, contact Myrton
Hall at (919) 807-2966.
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