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Michaels: OSHA’s Challenge Is How to Make 40-Year-Old Law Work in Today's Economy

Source: http://safety.blr.com

Date: 04/22/2011

In remarks to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Dr. David Michaels said that while the agency can cite several drops in worker injuries and fatalities, “our challenge, every day, is how to make this 40-year-old law work effectively in today’s economy.”

While acknowledging that some of the drops were due to the United States moving from a manufacturing to a service economy, Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, said “clearly, much of our progress is due to tougher government standards and greater awareness of workplace safety practices brought about by OSHA.”

He said while in the past, workers often did not know the names or hazards of the substances and materials they handled, but now they have a right to know. But, he said, after 40 years, far too many workers today don't know about the hazards they face and the legal rights they have, and far too many of those who do understand these problems do not feel safe raising these issues in their workplaces.

On a more positive note, Michaels also stressed the word “preventable.” He said that under OSHA, “deaths and injuries are:

- Preventable by basic safety precautions such as providing a safety harness and line to catch workers when they fall off a roof, shoring up a trench to make sure it doesn't collapse, or guarding a machine so it doesn't cut off a worker's hand.
- Preventable by simple compliance with OSHA standards.

He also reminded citizens that 40 years ago, President Richard M. Nixon and the United States Congress created a new law “dedicated to a series of radical propositions,” which stated:

- All workers deserve a safe workplace
- Workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities are not just "Acts of God," but that they are preventable
- Workers should not have to choose between their lives and their jobs.

Addressing arguments that OSHA regulations are contributing to continued high levels of unemployment, Michaels emphasized that the “empirical evidence is clear: OSHA doesn't kill jobs; it stops jobs from killing workers.”

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