Despite assurances from Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta that he will boost the number of OSHA compliance officers this fiscal year, new data shows the number of inspectors has declined. According to statistics that POLITICO obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the number of compliance safety and health officers tasked with conducting workplace inspections at …
Number of workplace safety inspectors fall under Trump Read More »
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not have enough workplace safety inspectors before Donald Trump arrived on the scene, and as with just about everything else, it’s gotten worse in Trump’s two-plus years in office. The number of inspectors has fallen to a record low in the history of the agency, and a new analysis …
Workplace safety enforcement plummets under Trump … but fatality investigations rise Read More »
Workplace violence is a serious and growing problem for working people in the United States: It causes more than 450 homicides and 28,000 serious injuries each year. Workplace homicide now is responsible for more workplace deaths than equipment, fires and explosions. Two of every three workplace violence injuries are suffered by women. Health care and …
A new and improved Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAWA) has been introduced into the House of Representatives by Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT). Similar versions of this bill has been introduced every year for over a decade. The bill number is H.R.1074 and a copy of it can soon be found here. (In the meantime, here is …
Protecting America’s Workers Act Introduced. Would Strengthen OSHA and Workers’ Rights Read More »
Regulatory doo doo — to use the technical term — seems to be where the Department of Labor is finding itself these days. And Democrats in Congress along with the Department of Labor’s Inspector General are not amused. At the request of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congresspersons Bobby Scott (D-VA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Rosa …
Undermining Worker Safety — Despite Laws and Shutdowns Read More »
In its first completed rollback of a previously issued regulation in the Trump administration*, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced its final recordkeeping regulation that eliminates the requirement that certain employers send in to OSHA detailed information about injuries and illnesses that employers already collect. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs announced …
OSHA Announces Rollback of Recordkeeping Requirements Read More »
As we sit here mired in yet another pointless government shutdown stranding tens of thousand of workers without paychecks, we pause to reflect over the past year in workplace safety and health. The madness in Washington DC continues, and while we can’t make any guarantees for the White House or the Senate, things are at …
2018: The Workplace Safety and Health Year in Review Read More »
As the sun sets on the 115th Congress and the mid-point of this term of the Trump administration, the sun also seems to be setting on any chance of seeing an Assistant Secretary for OSHA in the foreseeable future. Or maybe not…. You may recall that former FedEx Ground safety director and Chamber of Commerce …
Workplace violence is a serious and growing problem for health care and social service workers. Nurses, emergency room doctors, social workers, psychiatric facility aides, and other health care and social service workers frequently face violence that leads to serious, life-altering injuries, loss of productivity and death. In 2016, working people petitioned the Occupational Safety and …
New Bill Seeks to Protect Health Care and Social Service Workers from Workplace Violence Read More »
With the death toll now standing at 42 and with some 7,200 structures destroyed, officials are now calling the wildfire in Paradise, CA (dubbed the “Camp Fire”) the deadliest and most destructive in California’s recent history. Two other massive fires—dubbed the Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire are simultaneously scorching Southern California. As frontline firefighters—including many prison laborers—continue to …
The Other Victims of California’s Fires: Workers Inhaling Toxic Fumes Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
