Common Sense is Not So Common
Solis honors fallen workers on Workers Memorial Day
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones' famous words, "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living," were a call to arms that rang especially true on April 28, Workers Memorial Day, and on the heels of a tragic month for the nation's working families. More than 4.6 million workers suffer serious injuries each year. And, every day across America, more than 14 men and women lose their lives in preventable workplace incidents. "On this Workers Memorial Day, the mission of the Department of Labor's worker safety and health protection agencies -- MSHA and OSHA -- is clearer than ever," said Secretary Solis. "And, our effort to save lives has never been more necessary." Secretary Solis and Assistant Secretary Michaels took time to meet with 20 family members of victims of workplace fatalities during their visit to Washington, D.C., for Workers Memorial Day.
Michaels advocates for revised OSH Act at National Workers Memorial dedication
Marking Workers Memorial Day at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., Assistant Secretary Michaels called for major changes in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a law that has not seen a significant revision in 40 years. He said that the "Protecting America's Workers Act," now under consideration in Congress, "would raise the ceiling on OSHA fines, increase criminal penalties and criminal liability for employers who knowingly endanger workers, expand the rights of workers' and victims' families, and strengthen whistleblower protections."
Michaels and MSHA chief ask Senate to ensure workers get the protections they deserve.
OSHA Assistant Secretary Michaels and Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration Joseph A. Main testified before the U.S. Senate April 27 on strengthening workplace safety as well as their respective agencies' ability to enforce the law. According to Michaels, "It has now been almost 40 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed, and aside from an overdue increase in penalties almost 20 years ago, no significant change has been made to this law. There are far too many obstacles that prevent effective enforcement of the law, far too many loopholes that allow unscrupulous employers to continue to get away with endangering workers. This must stop."
New enforcement procedures target employers who ignore OSHA standards
To address urgent safety and health problems facing Americans in the workplace, OSHA is implementing a new Severe Violator Enforcement Program and increasing civil penalty amounts. Announced in an April 22 news release, the SVEP, which will go into effect by the beginning of June, is intended to focus OSHA enforcement resources on employers who endanger workers by repeatedly demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law. This supplemental enforcement tool includes increased OSHA inspections in these worksites, mandatory OSHA follow-up inspections, and inspections of other worksites of the same employer where similar hazards and deficiencies may be present. Several administrative changes to the penalty calculation system in OSHA's Field Operations Manual will also become effective in the next several months. The penalty changes will increase the overall dollar amount of all penalties while maintaining OSHA's policy of reducing penalties for small employers and those acting in good faith.
Spring regulatory agenda includes plan to find and fix workplace hazards
OSHA's spring 2010 Regulatory Agenda includes a new standard that would require each employer to implement safety prevention measures tailored to the actual hazards in that employer's workplace. Instead of waiting for an OSHA inspection or a workplace incident to address workplace hazards, the proposed Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) standard would require that employers develop a plan, with worker participation, to identify the hazards present in their worksites and address them before they cause an injury, illness, or death. "We are asking employers to 'find and fix' the hazards in their workplace," said Assistant Secretary Michaels. OSHA will be holding a series of stakeholder meetings to get public input on the development of the I2P2 standard. The meetings will be held June 3 in East Brunswick, N.J., June 10 in Dallas, Texas, and June 29 in Washington, D.C. Those wishing to take part in these meetings can go online to submit a notice of intent to participate. Submission deadlines and options for sending notification by mail or fax can be found in the notice on the stakeholder meetings published in the Federal Register.
Company fined more than $130,000 after worker's hand is partially amputated by unsafe machine
OSHA inspectors found that a motorized saw at the Yonkers, N.Y., plant of H&H Woodworking Inc. cut off part of a worker's hand because the machine was not equipped with required safety features. Additional safety and health violations found during the inspection included accumulated combustible wood dust; improperly stored flammable liquids; a locked exit door; and workers allowed to eat food in areas where hazardous chemicals are used. OSHA cited the company $130,800 for intentionally disregarding worker safety and health and for exposing workers to potentially known hazards that could cause death or serious physical harm. "One means of preventing recurring hazards is for employers to establish effective comprehensive workplace safety and health programs that involve their workers in proactively evaluating, identifying and eliminating those hazards," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.
Barab testifies before House on whistleblower protection and victims' rights
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab testified before the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections April 28 in support of the whistleblower protection and family and victim support provisions of the Protecting America's Workers Act. He emphasized the importance of protecting workers from retaliation for exercising their health and safety rights. "PAWA would strengthen the Occupational Safety and Health Act by increasing protections for whistleblowers, providing additional rights to accident victims and their families, improving OSHA enforcement, and increasing the monetary and criminal penalties for violations of the law. It would also extend OSHA coverage to all public employees in America," stated Barab.
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