Senators introduce OSHA reform legislation to address safety issues.Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Ma.), along with Sens. Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine (born January 1, 1947) is the Governor of New Jersey. He was sworn into office on January 17, 2006, for a four-year term ending in 2010. He represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 2001 until 2006, when he stepped down to take his seat as (D-N.J.), Christopher Dodd  This article or section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.Content may change as the election approaches. (D-Conn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wa.), introduced OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. reform legislation in April titled, "Protecting America's Workers Act." The bill will address a variety of job safety and health issues, including criminal penalties, employer pay for personal protective equipment (PPE PPE (Brit) n abbr (Univ) (= philosophy, politics, and economics) → Studiengang bestehend aus Philosophie, Politologie und Volkswirtschaft PPE n abbr (BRIT ) (SCOL ) and the public's right to know. The legislation borrows heavily from Sen. Corzine's S. 1272, which would stiffen stiff·en tr. & intr.v. stiff·ened, stiff·en·ing, stiff·ens To make or become stiff or stiffer. stiff penalties (making it a felony instead of a misdemeanor) for employers that cause a worker's death by willfully willfully adv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) violating health and safety laws. Senator Kennedy's bill would update OSHA's civil penalties and provide a minimum penalty of $50,000 when a worker's death is caused by willful violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The legislation also would clarify that employers must provide required PPE for workers. Under the Clinton Administration, OSHA proposed a rule that would require employers to pay for PPE, but its progress has since stalled. According to Sen. Kennedy, the legislation also would "improve transparency and accountability" by requiring the U.S. Dept. of Labor to: * investigate all cases involving workplace deaths or multiple serious injuries; * give workers and their families the right to meet with the department about an investigation of worker injury or death; * require companies to tell workers about their rights. Additionally, the bill seeks to extend OSHA protections to "millions of public and private sector employees who aren't protected now, including more than 8.4 million state and local public employees and millions of private sector workers." |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion