Stronger OSHA and Increased Penalties Proposed

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced legislation targeting unsafe working conditions to enhance workplace protections for employees. The Protecting America’s Workers Act would increase penalties for high gravity violations in the workplace and provides rights for workers and their family members.

“We need to provide greater protections for workers and their families, so no one gets hurt. Everyone should be able to go to work knowing they will come home at the end of the day in the same condition and without experiencing any threat to their health and safety,” said Senator Baldwin. “It is unacceptable that workers face unsafe working conditions or risk losing their job if they file a complaint. This legislation will improve the rights of employees, foster the safety of their workplaces and hold accountable the bad actors who break the law and do harm to American workers.”

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in December 2017, OSHA reported two violations at Mid-America Steel Drum, an oil refurbishing plant owned by Greif, Inc. in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The same company’s Milwaukee facility was cited with 15 serious violations in April 2017 for exposing workers to hazardous materials.

Under current law, an employer may be charged with a misdemeanor —at most—when a willful violation of OSHA leads to a worker’s death. The Protecting America’s Workers Act would authorize felony penalties against employers who knowingly commit OSHA violations that result in death or serious bodily injury and extend such penalties to corporate officers and directors.

According to the senate proponents of the bill, too many workers are being injured and even killed on the job. In 2016 alone, 5,190 workers were killed on the job, with Wisconsin witnessing 105 of those fatal work injuries and about 3.7 million worker injuries and illnesses being reported throughout the nation. The Protecting America’s Workers Act would improve reporting, inspection and enforcement of hazardous work conditions. This legislation also updates current OSHA civil penalties – which have remained too low to deter bad actors and sets a minimum penalty of $50,000 for a worker’s death caused by willful violation.

In addition, the legislation would enhance protections for whistleblowers like Will Kramer, who witnessed safety and environmental violations while an employee at Greif. Under the Protecting America’s Workers Act, workers like Kramer would have more rights in filing claims through expanding protections to public employees including contract workers and first responders. The legislation creates stronger penalties to deter repeated violations by providing authority for increased civil monetary penalties for willful and serious violations resulting in death or serious bodily injury. It also requires employers to correct serious, willful and repeat violations while they are contesting citations for OSHA violations. This aims to protect workers from potential hazards as soon as they are reported, rather than having to wait for OSHA and the cited workplace to settle a case and leave workers exposed to dangerous work environments for a longer period of time.

For over a year, Senator Baldwin has been working to hold Mid-America Steel Drum accountable, protect worker safety and keep neighborhoods safe. In February 2017, Senator Baldwin requested that Attorney General Jeff Sessions provide an update on the status of the Department’s investigation of whistleblower reports and urged swift movement on appropriate actions. She also called for investigations by OSHA, the EPA, DOT, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

As a result of Senator Baldwin’s efforts, investigations have been opened by OSHA, EPA and DOT at each of the three Mid-America Steel Drum facilities in Wisconsin (St. Francis, Oak Creek and Milwaukee). In addition, the DOT has expanded its investigation to Greif facilities across the country and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is investigating as well.

The Protecting America’s Workers Act is cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Patty Murray (D-WA). More information on the Protecting America’s Workers Act is available here.

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OSHA is Focusing on Trench Safety

OSHA has announced that one of its priority goals for 2018 is to reduce trenching and excavation accidents. In 2011, OSHA said that two workers a month were killed in trench collapses, and the picture has not improved. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, excavation- and trench-related fatalities in 2016 were nearly double the average of the previous 5 years. OSHA’s general goal is to increase awareness of trenching hazards in construction, educate employers and workers on safe cave-in prevention solutions, and decrease the number of trench collapses.

In attempting to explain the upswing in fatalities, one construction professional points to “ignorance to safety rules, lack of supervision, pressures of time and money, and sometimes, outright laziness.” To that list, some employee safety groups add insufficient inspection and enforcement by federal and state safety agencies.

OSHA defines an “excavation” as any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth's surface formed by earth removal. A “trench” is defined as a narrow underground excavation that is deeper than it is wide and no wider than 15 feet. Working in either trenches or excavations carries risks, but because the space provided is more confined and trench walls are generally steeper, the hazards are higher in trenches. Cave-ins or collapses are the single greatest hazard; 1 cubic yard of soil may not sound like a lot, but it can weigh as much as 3,000 lb. Other risks include falls, falling loads, hazardous atmospheres, and encounters with mobile equipment.

“An unprotected trench is an early grave,” says OSHA. “Do not enter an unprotected trench.”


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