| An Early
Prediction on the New OSHA |
Ronald J Lott Ph.D, CPE
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Introduction
The constitution of the United States established three branches of
the government—Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The legislative
branch is to pass laws, the executive branch is to execute laws, and
the judicial reviews the constitutionality of the establishment and
execution of laws.
In 1970 the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed at a time
when an estimated 14,000 workers were dying each year. In the law’s
preamble it states, that every working man and woman in the United
States will be afforded a safe and healthful work environment to the
extent possible. The law established the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA), which promulgates standards as a part of
Title 29 of Federal Law with regulations codified in 1910 and 1926 for
General Industry and for Construction, respectively; with other parts
published for other types of industries.
In recent years an approximate 5-6,000 workers die each year. On
September 11th, 2001 some 3000 Americans died, and justifiably so, our
country has responded. Consider however, that with the aforementioned
number of workplace fatalities, approximately 40 to 48,000 American
workers have died at work since 9-11 - its just that the news media
was not there to film it.
Employers expend nearly $170 billion dollars annually on workers’
compensation costs; the average cost of a death is $250,000.00, and a
recordable case, $28,000.00. Ironically, during hard economic times,
the safety program is usually the first to be cut. Maybe if the OSHA
becomes more active, better decisions will be made.
The New OSHA
What will the new Administration’s OSHA be like? The Congress will
likely pass the Protecting American Workers' Act, which provides for
increased monetary penalties against employers for regulatory
violations. Hilda Solis, the new Secretary of Labor, has pledged to
"put enforcement back into the Department of Labor" - including more
OSHA inspections. It is expected that under the new administration,
employers must get ready for a shift away from the cooperative
atmosphere of the recent past to a more aggressive, citation-based
approach.
The OSHA of the prior administration indicated that its’ enforcement
activities were significant, yet on April 1st, 2009 the Office of the
Inspector General at the Department of Labor reported a devastating
report on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA)
enforcement failures.
“The report from the Department of Labor on OSHA’s enforcement
failures is devastating news for America’s working men and women. As
the findings show, dozens of workers died at employers who were
previously inspected by OSHA in dangerous and severe situations.
According to the report OSHA, under the Bush Administration, failed to
designate these employers for strict action under the Enhanced
Enforcement Program that was supposed to prevent further fatalities
and serious injuries.
Worker protection regulations are simply guidelines which essentially
state, if you have these types of hazards and you follow these
guidelines, you will protect your workers, increase the longevity of
your workforce, limit workers’ compensation cost, and limit company or
personal liabilities. At any rate, the guidelines are regulatory
requirements and not optional activities; standards state, the
employer must or shall or will. Just as most citizens do not elect to
violate laws such as going through “red lights,” taking other’s
things, tax fraud, murder, etc. it is ironic that some will choose to
ignore worker protection laws. Often such decisions are made naively
or because they do not realize the potential consequences (civil and
criminal) and the cost of such decisions. In addition they may not
understand the correlation between the enhancement of production and
the maintenance of both the occupational and non-occupational health
of their workforce.
As previously mentioned, everyday you read about or talk with a safety
manager or trainer that has either been released, their staff
decreased, or their budgets cut; usually as a “cost saving initiative”
by the company. Such actions will inevitably lead to increasing costs
of workers’ comp and if the New OSHA does increase its activities to
identify violators of standards, additional cost will occur.
Human Resources and Safety & Health Manager Solutions
Managers responsible for safety and health programs must become
better researchers, statisticians, epidemiologists, sociologists,
actuaries, and staffers. There is plenty of documentary evidence to
provide production managers in order for them to understand the
potential consequences of their decisions concerning the elimination
of health and safety initiatives. Some include:
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Data
- Safety Pays Data
- Demographic Epidemiological Data
- OSHA Violation Data
- Professional Journal Articles
- Professional Organization Data
These are but a few sources of data gathering that will
help to better inform management so that they make more informed
decisions about the benefits of maintaining a safe and healthful
workplace.
Feel free to call for an initiation consultation at no
charge.
Office—931-552-4655 (888-247-4655)
Mobile—931-624-4293
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