Assistant Secretary of Labor/OSHA Director Dr. David Michaels recently testified to the US House of Representatives regarding increasing OSHA penalties. The Act, referred to as PAWA, is designed to strengthen OSHA and cover more employees. According to the House Committee on Education & Labor’s website, some of the things it will do:
- Cover more employees, including state and local public employees. In Minnesota, since we have a state-run program, these employees are already covered.
- Cover airline and railroad employees.
- Improves whistleblower protections. Employees have the right to refuse work that they believe is hazardous and that they have reported to their employer. Employers cannot retaliate against an employee for this or for filing a complaint with OSHA.
- Provides more rights to the family of a worker killed on the job.
- Increases penalties. OSHA’s press release on this gives a good argument for increased fines:
“Environmental laws carry much heavier penalties than penalties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. For example, in 2001 a tank of sulphuric acid exploded at a Delaware oil refinery, killing employee Jeff Davis, whose body literally dissolved in the acid. The OSHA penalty was only $175,000. Yet in the same incident, thousands of dead fish and crabs were discovered, allowing an Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act citation of $10 million.”
The administration is working to find ways to work with small businesses and make the penalties proportional.
Stay tuned…
For more information on this, or assistance with your safety programs and compliance, call us at 651-481-9787.