The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that the occupational fatality rate of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 workers for 2013 was the lowest reported rate since the BLS started using its current tracking methodology in 2006. That’s good news, but we’ve got a very long way to go still. The simple truth is that workers are not as safe as they could and should be. Although the fatality rate is down, there were still 4,585 occupational fatalities in 2013.
The principal method for making workers safer is regulation and enforcement by the Occupational Health & Safety Administration. While about 40 percent of the deaths resulted from motor vehicle-related accidents, which is outside of OSHA’s regulatory authority, OSHA has tried to address the job risks within its jurisdiction by targeting the most dangerous industries and imposing the maximum penalties in appropriate cases. No doubt these efforts have resulted in the reported fatality reductions. To do better, however, OSHA faces a number of challenges.
First, budget cuts have handicapped OSHA enforcement efforts (see here at pp. 5-7). Second, Congress has capped the size of OSHA fines at levels that are so low they often do not create significant deterrence. (See here at p. 16 and here) In particular, the maximum penalty is six months in jail if a worker dies due to a willful violation of workplace safety regulations (see here at p. 10). Secondly, even if an employer knowingly violates a regulation and a worker dies as a result, the DOJ will likely refuse to prosecute because the investment of resources is not justified by the light penalty levied at the end of the process.
Third, the fatality rate for Hispanic workers increased in 2013, up to 3.9 deaths for every 100,000 workers, compared to the 2012 rate of 3.7 deaths. This increase reflects the large percentage of Hispanic workers employed in dangerous occupations, particularly construction, and the lack of job and safety training in Spanish. OSHA is well aware of this difference, but its capacity to mount a special effort to protect minority workers is handicapped by the many demands on its time and resources.
Finally, there’s a huge caveat in the BLS statistics: They do not reflect the number of workers who die from occupational diseases. Estimates of annual premature deaths from occupational disease range from 50,000 to 200,000 per year (see here and here) Even if the number is lower than 50,000, the number of premature deaths from occupational disease far exceeds the number from injuries. Yet, OSHA has been nearly paralyzed in its efforts to promulgate new regulations to protect workers against dangerous chemicals or other hazards that lead to fatal illnesses. There are a number of reasons for this failure, which CPR scholars and I have discussed previously. For now, occupational disease remains the bad news for workers even as the number of fatalities from injuries goes down.
Most of us do not risk our lives in our effort to earn a living. The goal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act is to make that true for all workers in the United States. The latest BLS statistics indicate workplaces are getting safer, but workers are not as safe as they could and should be.
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Sidney A. Shapiro | April 27, 2015
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that the occupational fatality rate of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 workers for 2013 was the lowest reported rate since the BLS started using its current tracking methodology in 2006. That’s good news, but we’ve got a very long way to go still. The simple truth is that […]
Robert Verchick | April 23, 2015
Nearly five years ago, BP introduced a flippered mammal Americans never knew we had: the Gulf Walrus! If you don’t know the story, you should, because the tale of the Gulf Walrus tells you everything you need to know about what was wrong with deepwater drilling back in 2010, and worse, still is. The story […]
Sidney A. Shapiro | April 22, 2015
Forty-five years ago I joined hundreds of people in Fairmont Park in Philadelphia for the first Earth Day. The sad state of the environment on that day was all too apparent. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so polluted that it caught on fire the year before. The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill is still […]
Joel A. Mintz | April 22, 2015
Urban parks are a much-prized resource. They provide city dwellers with safe places to relax, walk their dogs, supervise their children at play, plant gardens, contemplate nature, pursue recreational activities, and escape the multiple stresses of urban life. At the same time, however, particularly in prosperous cities where open land is scarce and real estate […]
Emily Hammond | April 21, 2015
Last week, the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument on a highly unusual attempt to short-circuit EPA’s rulemaking process for greenhouse gas regulation of existing power plants. Despite statutory and constitutional hurdles to premature litigation, the petitioners—the coal-fired industry and coal-producing states—argued that the importance of the proposed rule justifies court intervention. The rule’s importance is […]
Erin Kesler | April 20, 2015
The Center for Progressive Reform is excited to welcome its new policy analyst, Evan Isaacson who will focus on the Chesapeake Bay. Isaacson succeeds Anne Havemann, and will continue her sterling work on the intersection of state and federal environmental regulations and the Bay. Mr. Isaacson joins CPR after eight years on staff at the […]
Kirsten Engel | April 20, 2015
Reflections on the April 16th Oral Argument in Murray v. EPA and West Virginia v. EPA In a rulemaking there is a provision for judicial review, right, it’s not going to be a question that’s avoided . . . when the rule comes out, it’s going to be challenged, we’re going to get to it. Why in the […]
Thomas McGarity | April 17, 2015
Growing up in Port Neches, Texas, long before anyone ever heard of Earth Day, it was not hard to be an environmentalist. When my father announced that the family would be moving to Port Neches, he tried to soften the blow to his 13-year-old son by stressing the fact that we would be living across […]
Matthew Freeman | April 16, 2015
Rena Steinzor Steps Down after Seven Years at Helm, Succeeded by Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Professor, Former EPA Official The board of directors of the Center for Progressive Reform today announced the appointment of Robert R.M. Verchick to be the organization’s third president, succeeding Rena Steinzor, who has served in the post […]