June 1 - Hurricane Season Begins
May 2009 OSHA releases H1N1 flu guidance for employers and workers
OSHA issued worker safety and health guidance for H1N1 flu, including fact sheets on "What Employers Can Do to Protect Workers from Pandemic Influenza" (English/Spanish), "Respiratory Infection Control: Respirators Versus Surgical Masks" (English/Spanish), and "Healthcare Workplaces Classified as Very High or High Exposure Risk for Pandemic Influenza" (English/Spanish). QuickCards™ were also released on "Pandemic Flu Respiratory Protection" (English/Spanish) and "How to Protect Yourself in the Workplace during a Pandemic" (English/Spanish).
September 2008 OnlineSchoolRoom The courses on this site invite individuals to explore new careers or enhance their existing ones. We already have many categories of continuing ed classes, licensing, certifications and online training. There are new ones being added constantly, so check back often to find the industry you are interested in.
October 2008
OnlineSchoolRoom adds three new Texas Insurance Adjuster sites! Because of the unprecedented demand for insurance adjusters in Texas after Hurricane Ike, we increased the number of sites available to get your license to become an insurance adjuster.
November 2008
This November our staff added 3 Power sites to our course catalog. They are Power Distribution, Power Generation and Power Transmission. Whether you need training classes for the nuclear power industry, steam power, electric power or any other, this is the place to get your training.
January 2009
OnlineSchoolRoom is proud to announce the addition of Texas Alcohol Seller/Server certifications, Texas Cosmetology license renewals, and 3 different OSHA training sites to our online training catalog. With many, many industries requiring OSHA training, these courses were a must.
February 2009
Because of the vast amount of inquiries we received, we have now added online licensing, pre-licensing and continuing ed classes for real estate, food safety, NASD Securities and the insurance industry.
March 2009
On March 1, 2009 Online SchoolRoom introduced the addition of Sexual Harassment Prevention in the workplace. Training for companies of 50 or more is already mandatory in California and more states to follow.
March 2009
The newest site added to Online SchoolRoom's array of courses is in the environmental area. Courses satisfy all requirements for OSHA, DOT and EPA.
MARCH 7, 2009
According to national news and President Obama, unemployment is higher than ever. If you have lost your job, or are looking for a new career with more possibilities, now might be the time for change. In recent news articles the devastation of the Texas coast and effect of Hurricane Ike are still being felt. There is still much work to be done and now we are embarking on a new hurricane season. Take a look at our Texas Insurance Adjuster Classes. Our course is approved as a substitute for the Texas Adjuster Exam. If completion of this 40 hour course & exam is successful you will be exempt from taking the exam through the Texas Department of Insurance Course Price is $299
March 20, 2009
NEWS
Quick action by OSHA inspector helps avert employee injuries in trench collapse
When a compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) from OSHA's Calumet City, Ill., Area Office arrived at a jobsite to conduct a trench inspection under the agency's national emphasis program, he observed an employee working in an unprotected 7-foot deep trench. Although the employee worked for a village public works department, the CSHO identified the hazards and the construction employer agreed to voluntarily remove the employee from the unsafe trench. As the employee began exiting the trench, the side wall collapsed and the water main the employee was working on erupted sending approximately 4 feet of water into the trench. Because OSHA had no jurisdiction, a referral was made to the State of Illinois Department of Labor for further investigation. Detailed information on excavation safety is available http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/trenchingexcavation/index.html.
Hail damage estimated at $160 million
Impacted: More than 22,000 vehicles,
15,000 homes
Updated: Monday, 30 Mar 2009, 5:51 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 30 Mar 2009, 10:00 AM CDT
Carla Castano
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Many Central Texans are still cleaning up from a large hail storm that knocked out windows, smashed roofs and dented thousands of automobiles on March 25. The Insurance Council of Texas estimates the insured losses will be around $160 million.
It's the most costly hailstorm in Central Texas in memory, council spokesman Mark Hanna said.
"I can't recall a hail storm of this magnitude, going back a couple of decades,” said Hanna.
Repair shops, car rental companies and insurance agents are all struggling to keep up with so many people who were impacted.
Most rental-car companies in the area are sold out.
"All the rent cars are gone because of all this hail," said Sherrie Jones of northwest Austin.
Jones said she will be depending on rides from friends for the next couple of weeks, until her car can be repaired.
"Compounding the situation was the fact that a couple hundred Enterprise rental cars were also damaged,” said Ned Maniscalco, Enterprise Rent-A-Car spokesman. “We are now in the process of bringing in replacements for those vehicles from all around Texas as well as from Oklahoma."
The storm swept in from Western Burnet County pummeling Marble Falls with golf ball size hail. Tennis ball size hail was reported in parts of Travis and Williamson counties.
Hundreds of new cars in several automobile dealerships were heavily damaged. In all, more than 22,000 vehicles were damaged in the storm, and nearly 15,000 homes received insured losses.
Major insurance companies have been advertising in the local media alerting policyholders where to call to report their claims.
This is the second time in less than a year that parts of Austin have been pounded by a catastrophic hail storm. On May 14, 2008, 20,000 claims came from a storm producing 65 mph wind gusts and large hail. The May 14 storm caused $50 million in insured losses.
The Insurance Council of Texas is the largest state insurance trade association in the country consisting of approximately 500 property and casualty insurers writing business in Texas. For more information turn to ICT’s Web site .
Each window repair worker is putting in about a dozen new windshields a day and still Enterprise Rent-a-car is struggling to keep up with all the requests for rentals. With some 25,000 thousand damaged cars reported to insurance companies in central Texas the well-known rental company is putting the gas on repairs.
In the short term, the storm is bringing in more work to the sluggish auto and home repair industries, which have been down
However, it could potentially mean an increase to insurance rates down the road. "Having two bad hail storms back to back it's certainly not positive."
Still, Insurance Council of Texas spokesman Hanna said, now could be a good time to shop around to make sure you have the coverage you want.
