Masonry Magazine June 2007 Page. 10
Government Government Affairs
OSHA Reform:
Does It Hurt or Help Mason Contractors?
Jessica Johnson Bennett, Director of Government Affairs. Mason Contractors Association of America
The ways in which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor enforces its rules and adjudicates its enforcement actions needs improvements to ensure the system provides adequate fairness to businesses, while also assuring worker safety is maintained. There have been numerous attempts to pass legislation designed to improve workplace safety, enhance business competitiveness, and foster more job creation to spur the economy. As recently as 2006, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and the late Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) worked to pass legislation, which was supported by the masonry industry as well as many in the business community. The masonry industry advocated on behalf of these measures, which would have ensured that OSHA enforcement efforts were in fact fair for small businesses that make good faith efforts to comply with all health and safety laws. These reform efforts were meant to improve worker safety by making it easier for employers to work voluntarily and proactively with OSHA to ensure safe and secure workplaces. Unfortunately, past efforts were met with some resistance and Congress was unable to address previous legislation in a timely manner.
Since the climate in Washington, DC, has changed dramatically with the Democrats regaining power, we may finally see OSHA reform legislation move through Congress. The fate of such legislation will depend solely on support of the employer community, Republicans and more importantly, the president.
Recently, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), along with Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, introduced legislation meant to reform and overhaul OSHA. In conjunction with the introduction of this legislation, both the House and Senate committees held hearings in May to evaluate OSHA and its practices.
Witnesses who testified at the hearing held by the Senate HELP Workforce Protections subcommittee included Peg Seminario, director of health and safety at AFL-CIO; David Michaels, research professor and associate chairman of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University; and a health care worker from Washington State. The Republican witness for the hearing was Thomas F. Cecich, on behalf of the American Society of Safety Engineers.
Witnesses for the House Education and Labor's Workforce Protections subcommittee included OSHA Assistant Secretary Edwin Foulke, Eric Peoples, former employee of Glister-Mary Lee Popcorn Factory and a victim of Bronchiolitis Obliterans ("popcorn worker's lung"); Scott Schneider, director of Occupational Safety and Health Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America; Baruch Fellner, an attorney with Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher; and Frank Mirer, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the Hunter School of Urban Public Health in New York.
Kennedy has introduced and attempted to pass OSHA reform legislation numerous times, and his current legislation is expected to be similar to the broad
SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION
Protecting America Workers Act
As previously stated, the bill amends to cover more workers, increase penalties, strengthen protections, enhance public accountability, and clarify an employer's duty to provide safety equipment. Some of the provisions include the following:
* Covers more workers.
* Increases penalties for those who break the law.
* Protects workers who blow the whistle on unsafe conditions in the workplace.
* Enhances the public's right to know about safety violations.
* Clarifies an employer's duty to provide safety equipment.
OSHA reform bill he has sponsored in previous Congresses.
Kennedy's bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), would extend OSHA protections to federal workers and others not currently covered, increase penalties, provide whistleblower protections, increase the public's right to know about safety violations, and clarify that employers are required to provide safety equipment to their workers.
A spokesperson for Miller indicated his bill would similar to Kennedy's. However, a key source told Inside OSHA that Miller’s