Posted:
January 4, 2010
LABOR
MOVES QUICKLY ON JOB SAFEY, WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Editor’s note: The following story by Sam Hananel
was published Jan. 1, 2010 by Associated Press.
Soon after she
became the nation's labor secretary, Hilda Solis warned corporate America there
was "a new sheriff in town."
Less than a year
into her tenure, that figurative badge of authority is unmistakable. Her
aggressive moves to boost enforcement and crack down on businesses that violate
workplace safety rules have sent employers scrambling to make sure they are
following the rules.
The changes are a
departure from the policies of Solis' predecessor, Elaine Chao. They follow
through on President Barack Obama's campaign promise to boost funding for the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, increase enforcement and
safeguard workers in dangerous industries.
Solis made a splash
in October when OSHA slapped the largest fine in its history on oil giant BP
PLC for failing to fix safety problems after a 2005 explosion at its Texas City
refinery.
Garnering less
attention, she just finished hiring 250 new investigators to protect workers
from being cheated out of wage and overtime pay. She also started a new program
that scrutinizes business records to make sure worker injury and illness
reports are accurate. And she is proposing new standards to protect workers
from industrial dust explosions - an effort the Bush administration had long resisted.
Some business
groups say they prefer a more cooperative approach between government and
businesses - what the Bush administration called "compliance
assistance."
"Our members
are concerned that the department is shifting its focus from compliance
assistance back to more of the 'gotcha' or aggressive enforcement first
approach," said Karen Harned, executive director
of the National Federation of Independent Business' small business legal
center.
Other business
leaders point out that the rate of workplace deaths and injuries actually fell
to record lows in the previous administration, while the agency also helped
employees collect a record amount of back pay for overtime and minimum wage
violations. Chao has claimed that success was the result of cooperating with
businesses to help them understand the myriad regulations.
Keith Smith, a
spokesman for the National Association of Manufacturers, said his members
"want to build upon that progress and recognize what's working."
But a report last
month from the Government Accountability Office suggested there is widespread
underreporting of workplace safety issues.
Investigators cited
evidence that some employers pressure workers not to report illnesses and
injuries and urged OSHA to be more aggressive in verifying business records.
Labor Department
spokesman Jaime Zapata said the idea of helping businesses understand the rules
remains an important part of the agency's strategy, along with stepped-up
enforcement. Solis plans to hire 100 new OSHA inspectors next year.
"Compliance
assistance was not a creation of the last administration," Zapata said.
The changes have
drawn praise from organized labor leaders who spent millions to help get Obama
elected.
Solis, a former
California congresswoman and daughter of immigrant parents who were both union
members, is a favorite of labor unions and a longtime advocate for workers'
rights.
"We will not
rest until the law is followed by every employer, and each worker is treated
and compensated fairly," Solis said last month as she described a new
national public awareness campaign to make sure workers know their rights on
the job.
The massive fine
against BP certainly caught the public's attention, but other businesses are
also paying a steep price for violating safety rules.
Two months into the
new fiscal year, OSHA has already cited six companies for "egregious"
violations that carry the highest penalties. There were only four such
egregious cases in all of the previous year.
This month, Solis said
her agency would tackle 90 new rules and regulations next year. One change
would give workers more information about how their pay is computed. Another
would make employers disclose whether they sought advice from anti-union labor
consultants.
Glenn Spencer,
executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Workforce Freedom
Initiative, said Solis so far has been willing to listen to some of his group's
concerns. But he worries most about the possibility that Labor officials will
try to revive costly ergonomics rules. Such rules would force businesses to
redesign work spaces to protect employees from repetitive stress injuries.
One of the first
acts of the Bush administration was to rescind ergonomics rules that were
passed in the Clinton administration. Solis supported the rules at the time,
and has not spoken about plans to revive them.