Press Release from: U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee
Witnesses Cite Importance of Voluntary Employer Efforts to Improve Workplace Safety
WASHINGTON D.C. – Witnesses before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee today stressed the importance of voluntary efforts employers and workers are taking to proactively improve workplace safety before injuries occur. The hearing examined these voluntary efforts, whether these strategies have been effective, where OSHA and the law assist them in doing so, and where improvement in OSHA or the law may be necessary to remove obstacles to successful compliance and safe and secure workplaces.
"I believe that 'a regulatory jungle' is an apt description for the myriad OSHA rules, regulations, guidance documents, and interpretive letters that employers must come to understand," said Subcommittee Chairman Charlie Norwood (R-GA). "With all these documents, and the increased use of outside materials that are incorporated by reference, the small businessman is quite literally being choked under the 'brush' of onerous government regulations."
"Small businesses want to comply with our nation’s health and safety laws because it pays for them to do so," Norwood added. "However, OSHA must find a way to simplify the process to ensure that businesses are operating in a safe manner. Proactive and voluntary compliance with agency health and safety regulations, after all, is far more effective than 'gotcha' enforcement tactics that drive business men and women into the bunker and away from agency cooperation."
Witnesses before the subcommittee encouraged members to examine other voluntary efforts to improve workplace health and safety, such as employer efforts to work with private consultants and industrial safety specialists to foster a safer workplace.
Jon Turnipseed, safety program manager for the City of San Bernadino Municipal Water Department testified that a third party audit program would have practical, positive impacts on workplace safety by identifying problems and implementing suggestions proactively.
"The 'third party audit' legislative approach encourages voluntary efforts of employers to seek out safety and health practitioners with proven competence and professional independence to put in place effective safety and health programs," said Turnipseed. "These voluntary audits will not supplant federal enforcement and cooperative efforts but will add another tool for increasing the number of safe and healthy workplaces."
Turnipseed also urged members to look at the current inspection procedures used by OSHA to ensure that employers receive timely notice of possible hazards and citations so they can take corrective action, as well as written notice of their rights and responsibilities under the law.
Over the last five years, OSHA has implemented voluntary compliance strategies and these programs have begun to see positive results. A 2004 Government ccountability Office (GAO) report said the voluntary protection program (VPP) had made progress in helping OSHA and employers work together to reduce injuries and illnesses.
Because OSHA does not have the resources to rely solely on inspections to enforce workplace safety standards, Dennis Morikawa, partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, said that voluntary compliance programs and strategic partnerships with employers are critical.
"Over the past five years OSHA has conducted an average of 39,000 inspections per year," said Morikawa. "At that rate, if OSHA started tomorrow, it would take them 184 years and seven months to inspect every workplace in America once."
Morikawa said OSHA should remove artificial barriers that keep additional employers from participating in these voluntary programs. "The question should be: What limits employer participation in cooperative programs? Why aren’t more employers attempting to obtain the benefits offered by the cooperative programs?" asked Morikawa. "Even if a given employer was willing to undertake the burden and commitment of VPP or a partnership it might be excluded. OSHA maintains these exclusions in order to control the perceived risk of partnering with employers and to maintain maximum enforcement ability against employers. OSHA should eliminate these artificial barriers."
David Pressly, president of the Pressly Development Company, testified on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that most small construction firms do not have a full-time safety professional to implement the host of OSHA regulations because it is simply not possible or economically feasible. For this reason, he said, collaborative efforts are absolutely critical. "We believe collaborative efforts with OSHA have helped improve the regulatory environment so it is effective, but not inefficient, and has ensured that construction jobsites are safer than ever," said Pressly.
Pressly also urged Congress to review the OSHA citation and inspection process to ensure that small businesses who work to comply with all health and safety laws are treated fairly.
Witnesses Cite Importance of Voluntary Employer Efforts to Improve Workplace Safety
WASHINGTON D.C. – Witnesses before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee today stressed the importance of voluntary efforts employers and workers are taking to proactively improve workplace safety before injuries occur. The hearing examined these voluntary efforts, whether these strategies have been effective, where OSHA and the law assist them in doing so, and where improvement in OSHA or the law may be necessary to remove obstacles to successful compliance and safe and secure workplaces.
"I believe that 'a regulatory jungle' is an apt description for the myriad OSHA rules, regulations, guidance documents, and interpretive letters that employers must come to understand," said Subcommittee Chairman Charlie Norwood (R-GA). "With all these documents, and the increased use of outside materials that are incorporated by reference, the small businessman is quite literally being choked under the 'brush' of onerous government regulations."
"Small businesses want to comply with our nation’s health and safety laws because it pays for them to do so," Norwood added. "However, OSHA must find a way to simplify the process to ensure that businesses are operating in a safe manner. Proactive and voluntary compliance with agency health and safety regulations, after all, is far more effective than 'gotcha' enforcement tactics that drive business men and women into the bunker and away from agency cooperation."
Witnesses before the subcommittee encouraged members to examine other voluntary efforts to improve workplace health and safety, such as employer efforts to work with private consultants and industrial safety specialists to foster a safer workplace.
Jon Turnipseed, safety program manager for the City of San Bernadino Municipal Water Department testified that a third party audit program would have practical, positive impacts on workplace safety by identifying problems and implementing suggestions proactively.
"The 'third party audit' legislative approach encourages voluntary efforts of employers to seek out safety and health practitioners with proven competence and professional independence to put in place effective safety and health programs," said Turnipseed. "These voluntary audits will not supplant federal enforcement and cooperative efforts but will add another tool for increasing the number of safe and healthy workplaces."
Turnipseed also urged members to look at the current inspection procedures used by OSHA to ensure that employers receive timely notice of possible hazards and citations so they can take corrective action, as well as written notice of their rights and responsibilities under the law.
Over the last five years, OSHA has implemented voluntary compliance strategies and these programs have begun to see positive results. A 2004 Government ccountability Office (GAO) report said the voluntary protection program (VPP) had made progress in helping OSHA and employers work together to reduce injuries and illnesses.
Because OSHA does not have the resources to rely solely on inspections to enforce workplace safety standards, Dennis Morikawa, partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, said that voluntary compliance programs and strategic partnerships with employers are critical.
"Over the past five years OSHA has conducted an average of 39,000 inspections per year," said Morikawa. "At that rate, if OSHA started tomorrow, it would take them 184 years and seven months to inspect every workplace in America once."
Morikawa said OSHA should remove artificial barriers that keep additional employers from participating in these voluntary programs. "The question should be: What limits employer participation in cooperative programs? Why aren’t more employers attempting to obtain the benefits offered by the cooperative programs?" asked Morikawa. "Even if a given employer was willing to undertake the burden and commitment of VPP or a partnership it might be excluded. OSHA maintains these exclusions in order to control the perceived risk of partnering with employers and to maintain maximum enforcement ability against employers. OSHA should eliminate these artificial barriers."
David Pressly, president of the Pressly Development Company, testified on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that most small construction firms do not have a full-time safety professional to implement the host of OSHA regulations because it is simply not possible or economically feasible. For this reason, he said, collaborative efforts are absolutely critical. "We believe collaborative efforts with OSHA have helped improve the regulatory environment so it is effective, but not inefficient, and has ensured that construction jobsites are safer than ever," said Pressly.
Pressly also urged Congress to review the OSHA citation and inspection process to ensure that small businesses who work to comply with all health and safety laws are treated fairly.
Labels: workplace safety
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