Congress Turns Up Heat for OSHA (companies need to refocus on their health-and-safety)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=207268317

The potential for criminal convictions and increased financial penalties for OSHA violations -- coupled with an increased funding for enforcement activities -- mean that companies need to refocus on their health-and-safety policies and procedures. An emphasis on recordkeeping is also a necessity.

By Stephen Barlas

The drive by congressional Democrats to upgrade civil and criminal penalties for workplace-safety violations should be warning enough for companies to take a close look at their internal Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance programs.

Jason Schwartz, an attorney in the Washington office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, who counsels large companies on Labor Department compliance issues, says Democrats will pass The Protecting America's Workers Act, a bill which fell short in the past few sessions of Congress, primarily because of the threat of a George W. Bush veto.

The bill would allow the Justice Department to seek felony criminal penalties instead of the misdemeanors that the current law allows.

Moreover, the bill allows felony penalties in the case of serious bodily injury, and extends such penalties to responsible corporate officers.Current law allows misdemeanor criminal penalties only in the case of a "willful" corporate action resulting in a worker's death. Conviction results in no more than six months in jail.

Schwartz points out that another significant provision of the proposed legislation would require companies to immediately fix problems identified by OSHA citations. Currently, a company can challenge a citation in court, and put off making the changes sought by OSHA until the legal case is resolved.

Keith Smith, director of employment and labor policy at the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, says his organization is "quite concerned" by the reintroduction of the Protecting America's Workersbill.

"Nothing in the bill assists employers with compliance with the already rigorous OSHA requirements," he says.

FULL story at link.