Scroll to the bottom of this post to watch the recording of a related webinar or view on YouTube.
When the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was enacted 50 years ago, it was hailed as critical legislation that would make workplaces safer and healthier for all. Thanks to this law, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has made great strides toward protecting worker health and safety. Unfortunately, the law didn't go far enough then — and it doesn't go nearly far enough now.
The law, essentially unchanged since its enactment in 1970, has not kept up with the growing scale and changing nature of work in the 21st century. Rather, due to limited resources and authority and, at times, lack of political will, the agency has failed to address numerous well-known workplace hazards or emerging ones, like COVID-19, climate hazards, and artificial intelligence.
One of the biggest gaps in the law is that it authorizes OSHA alone to enforce the statute. Thus, if workers are exposed to toxic substances like liquid nitrogen, forced to work on dangerous machines, or not provided personal protective equipment (PPE), they must rely on OSHA and its state counterparts to enforce the law. Workers may submit a complaint to the agency alerting it to a violation, but workers have no path forward in the courts when the agency fails to or chooses not to do its job.
You read that right: Workers can't sue their employers to compel them to comply with OSHA's health and safety standards, even if the violations could be deadly.
The good news is that there is a new political climate in Washington and new hope for workers' rights. The Biden-Harris administration is broadly supportive of workers' rights, as is the Democratic Party, which now controls both houses of Congress. Together, the administration and the 117th Congress can fill the gap in the 1970 statute by passing legislation that deputizes workers to enforce the law.
In a recent report looking ahead to OSHA's next 50 years, my colleagues and I lay out the details about what legislation creating a private right of action should include. We call for legislation that would:
While Biden's appointees to OSHA and other key labor posts will likely respond more favorably in terms of enforcing the law against employers who disregard health and safety, it is still imperative that Congress and the administration codify a private right of action.
Providing workers a private right of action will bolster existing enforcement activities and help OSHA achieve its mission of providing safe and healthy working conditions to all workers across the United States. Further, it will guarantee workers a role in the enforcement of the statute under future administrations — including those that may seek to silence and disempower workers when they need protections most.
To learn more, watch the webinar recording below, which covers federal and state efforts to legislate private rights of action, empowering workers to enforce occupational health and safety laws. You can also view it directly on YouTube.
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Katie Tracy | February 9, 2021
When the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was enacted 50 years ago, it was hailed as critical legislation that would make workplaces safer and healthier for all. Thanks to this law, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has made great strides toward protecting worker health and safety. Unfortunately, the law didn't go far enough then -- and it doesn't go nearly far enough now.
Darya Minovi | February 8, 2021
If you’re one of roughly 2 million Marylanders whose drinking water comes from a private well, you or your property owner is responsible for maintaining the well and ensuring its water is safe -- no exceptions. That’s because federal clean water laws don’t cover private wells or small water systems, and state-level protections vary dramatically. In Maryland, those protections are few and far between.
Allison Stevens | February 5, 2021
All workers need the ability to earn paid sick days so they can take leave from their jobs to care for themselves or their loved ones when they are sick or injured. The coronavirus pandemic has made the need for this basic right -- guaranteed to workers in other wealthy nations but not here in the United States -- clearer than ever. Paid sick leave is more than a workers' rights issue. It's also a civil rights issue.
Maggie Dewane | February 4, 2021
To combat the climate crisis and air pollution that so often impacts BIPOC communities, the US must overhaul its infrastructure and energy systems.
Katlyn Schmitt | February 4, 2021
Virginia's General Assembly is more than halfway through its legislative session -- and state lawmakers are considering several important bills that would address environmental justice, pipelines, climate change, and public health. If passed, these bills will establish lasting environmental, health, and climate change protections for Virginia and its communities.
Katie Tracy | February 3, 2021
Since taking office, President Joe Biden has signaled a new openness to the concerns of our nation’s workers -- and we at CPR are joining our allies today in calling on his administration to go much further to make workplace safety a top priority.
Darya Minovi | February 2, 2021
Last week, I joined Maryland Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery County) and State Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Carroll and Howard counties) to discuss pollution threats to the state’s drinking water and legislation that, if enacted, would create a private well safety program in Maryland.
Hannah Wiseman | February 2, 2021
As President Biden continues to roll out executive orders prioritizing climate change, it is increasingly clear that there will be a relatively rapid U.S. shift toward renewable energy from the sun, wind and other sources. Indeed, many states are already pushing ahead with ambitious renewable and clean energy policies. These policies will reduce air pollution, spur extensive economic development in rural areas and make progress on the climate front. This "revolution," as Biden calls it, is critical. But the bulk of renewables that have been built in the United States are large, centralized projects requiring thousands of miles of transmission lines -- primarily in rural communities. A revolution that continues to prioritize these projects risks failure.
Daniel Farber | February 1, 2021
Big Tobacco’s Master Settlement Agreement in 1998 was the largest civil settlement in the nation’s history and a transformative moment in the industry’s control. The accord reached by 46 states, five United States territories, and the District of Columbia required tobacco manufacturers to pay the states billions of dollars annually in compensation for the public health crisis their products had created. Today, an even bigger crisis looms, with increasing demands for accountability. Over a dozen federal cases have now been filed against oil companies, seeking damages for their role in causing climate change. With one exception, the cases have been brought by states or local governments that claim they and their citizens are suffering harm from climate change. The oil companies have made it clear that they will fight every inch of the way, with all of their considerable resources, against these lawsuits.