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Bigger Fines and Penalties

April 06, 2010   |  

Michaels recommends higher penalties and improved whistleblower protections
Employers who ignore OSHA's rules and risk workers' lives should pay higher penalties, Assistant Secretary Michaels told Congress March 16. Michaels was on Capitol Hill giving testimony supporting the goals of the Protecting America's Workers Act. "Safe jobs exist only when employers have adequate incentives to comply with OSHA's requirements. Meaningful penalties provide an important incentive to do the right thing," said Michaels to the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Monetary penalties for violations of the OSH Act have been increased only once in 40 years. Michaels offered a revealing disparity between OSHA penalties and those of other agencies: In 2001, a tank full of sulphuric acid exploded at a refinery killing a worker and literally dissolving his body. OSHA's penalty was only $175,000. Yet, in the same incident, thousands of dead fish and crabs were discovered, allowing an EPA Clean Water Act violation amounting to $10 mill ion — 50 times higher. "Unscrupulous employers who refuse to comply with safety and health standards as an economic calculus will think again if there is a chance that they will go to jail for ignoring their responsibilities to their workers." Read Michaels' testimony for more information.

(From the April web update)

Posted by Wally Steidley on 04/06 at 03:09 PM

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