Maryam Jameel

Wisconsin’s dairy industry would almost certainly collapse without the immigrants who do the dirty, dangerous work that farmers across the state say U.S. citizens won’t. But when these workers get hurt, the laws are stacked against them.

Worker advocates say the federal agency’s patchwork of enforcement across the country is fundamentally unfair. Many don’t contact OSHA over safety incidents because they’ve heard so frequently that small farms can’t be investigated.

Dane County lawmakers cited ProPublica reporting for the moves to improve the lives of dairy workers in southern Wisconsin.

OSHA sometimes investigates deaths on small farms if they provide housing to immigrant workers. Other times the agency says it can’t take action.

A ProPublica investigation showed how language barriers contributed to authorities wrongly blaming a dairy farm worker for his son’s death. Lawmakers have responded.

A salmonella outbreak sickened more than 60 people at a funeral reception in Texas. Two years later, some of them are still coping with the financial and medical consequences.

The limited response to postal workers’ repeated appeals for help provides a window into the failures of two federal agencies: the Postal Service, which is one of the country’s largest employers, and OSHA, which is supposed to protect workers.

Tuesday was “nuts” in the words of one USPS manager. Now the agency faces questions about whether it did what it should have to get mailed ballots delivered and counted.

Citing ProPublica’s reporting, 22 Senate Democrats have asked the White House to explain its management of federal employee safety.

The CDC says people who have been exposed to COVID-19 should quarantine. Many postal workers say they have no way of knowing if that’s them.