Patricia Smith for US Solicitor of Labor

On Monday the US Senate will have the opportunity to end debate and confirm the nomination of Patricia  Smith as US Solicitor of Labor. Senator Reid will be calling for a closure vote on debate by the Senate and move her nomination.

Pat Garofalo writes at the Wonk Room about Smith’s successes:

"The New York Times has called Smith “one of the nation’s foremost labor commissioners because of her vigorous efforts to crack down on minimum wage and overtime violations at businesses including restaurants, supermarkets, car washes and racetracks.” During her time with the New York State Labor Department, where she is labor commissioner, Smith helped win more than $20 million in back pay for thousands of low-wage workers, including a record $2.3 million settlement with the owner of Ollie’s Noodle Shop and Grill chain in Manhattan.

As David Madland and Karla Walter pointed out, 'too often penalties [for labor law violations] are easily reduced or levied for low amounts, and the solicitor’s office has minimized civil and criminal liability for the worst violators.' Smith can change that, if only her nomination could come to a vote."

This is a unique opportunity for the Republicans to demonstrate their partisan support in the spirt that President Obama called for in his State of Union speech last week and confirm an eminently qualified individual, Patricia Smith, as US Solicitor-Department of Labor.

OSHA releases workplace injury and illness information

Data represents administration's "Open Government" policy

 Every year since 1996 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has collected work-related injury and illness data from more than 80,000 employers. For the first time, the Agency has made the data from 1996 to 2007 available in a searchable online database, allowing the public to look at establishment or industry-specific injury and illness data. The workplace injury and illness data is available at http://www.osha.gov/pls/odi/establishment_search.html as well as Data.gov.

OSHA uses the data to calculate injury and illness incidence rates to guide its strategic management plan and to focus its Site Specific Targeting (SST) Program, which the agency uses to target its inspections.

"Making injury and illness information available to the public is part of OSHA's response to the administration's commitment to make government more transparent to the American people," said David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. "This effort will improve the public's accessibility to workplace safety and health data and ensure the Agency can function more effectively for American workers."

Information available at the Data.gov and www.osha.gov Websites includes an establishment's name, address, industry, associated Total Case Rate (TCR), Days Away, Restricted, Transfer (DART) case rate, and the Days Away From Work (DAFWII) case rate. The data is specific to the establishments that provided OSHA with valid data through the 2008 data collection (collection of CY 2007 data). This database does not contain rates calculated by OSHA for establishments that submitted suspect or unreliable data.

Data.gov provides expanded public access to valuable workforce-related data generated by the Executive Branch of the federal government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, the public is invited to participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless public access and use of federal data.

More information about the Department of Labor's Open Government Web site is available athttp://www.dol.gov/open/ where there are links to the latest data sets, ways to connect with Department staff, and information about providing public input that will make the Department's site and its work more useful and engaging.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov

US Department of Labor's OSHA proposes recordkeeping change to improve illness data

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing to revise its Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting (recordkeeping) regulation by restoring a column on the OSHA Form 300 to better identify work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The rule does not change existing requirements for when and under what circumstances employers must record musculoskeletal disorders on their injury and illness logs.

Many employers are currently required to keep a record of workplace injuries and illnesses, including work-related MSDs, on the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses). The proposed rule would require employers to place a check mark in a column for all MSDs they have recorded.

The proposed requirements are identical to those contained in the OSHA recordkeeping regulation that was issued in 2001. Prior to 2001, OSHA's injury and illness logs contained a column for repetitive trauma disorders that included noise and MSDs. In 2001, OSHA separated noise and MSDs into two separate columns, but the MSD column was deleted in 2003 before the provision became effective. OSHA is now proposing to restore the MSD column to the OSHA Form 300 log.

"Restoring the MSD column will improve the ability of workers and employers to identify and prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders by providing simple and easily accessible information," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "It will also improve the accuracy and completeness of national work-related injury and illness data."

For more information, view OSHA's proposal at:http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=21314. This notice will be published in the Jan. 29 edition of theFederal Register.

Interested parties may submit comments on the proposed rule electronically athttp://www.regulations.gov, the federal e-rulemaking portal; or by mailing three copies to the OSHA Docket Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210; or by fax at 202-693-1648 if the comments and attachments do not exceed 10 pages.

Comments must include the agency name and docket number for this rulemaking (Docket Number OSHA-2009-0044). The deadline for submitting comments is March 15. OSHA will hold a public meeting on the proposed rule March 9.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Time to Lab Test Chemicals

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted in 1974 and has not kept up with the time. Of the 80,000 chemical substances in use  it has test only 200 and regulated only 5. The United Steelworkers joined forces with the Learning Disabilities Association, the Cancer Institute, and the Pennsylvania Nurses Association to call for reforms of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act needed to ensure the health and safety of America's workers and families.


The 5 substances that TSCA mandates regulations for are all known carcinogens: Asbestos, Hexavalent Chromium, Vinyl Chloride, Trichloethylene, Methyene Chloride and Dicloromethene. 


Since 1976 chronic and terminal diseases have increased: Leukemia +20%; Breast Cancer 40% with a risk factor increase from 1 in 10 women to 1 in 8 women; and asthma +200%. Additionally, major increases in conceiving and making pregnancy, birth defects and autism have been reported.


Chronic conditions now result in 70% of all deaths and 75% of all health costs. Direct health care costs from cancer alone, in 2008, was $93.2 Billion of the total health care costs in the US that amounted to $304 Billion.


A recent report reveals the inadequacies of the TSCA and urges an update. As medical science continues to investigate these medical conditions, it is critically important that Congress updates the TSCA and requires better regulation 


Dr. Maryann Donovan, associate director of research services for the University of Pittsburgh's Cancer Institute and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology stated, "It's not a matter of whether we test toxic chemicals. It's a matter of how we test them. Right now we test them in the bodies of our children, our consumers, our workers, ourselves. It's time to start testing chemicals in the lab, and to take action before anyone is harmed." 


Click here to read more about toxic exposures and workers' compensation.

Asbestos: Not Banned in US But Use Declining

The use of asbestos, a known carcinogen, is not yet banned  in the US, but the use of it continues to decline. Asbestos has not been mine in the US since 2002 and therefore the country is dependent upon imports for asbestos products. 

The US Geological Survey reports that asbestos consumption in 2009 was 715 metric tons. In 2008 1,460 metric toms were estimated to be imported. Roofing products account for 65% of US consumption while other applications account for 35%. Over 89% of asbestos used in the US is imported from Canada.

The US government no longer stockpiles asbestos for use. It had been widely use in Word War II as a strategic commodity to insulate ships. Many exposures occurred in naval yards and to Navy personnel. 

Asbestos is the sole cause of mesothelioma, a rare but fatal asbestos disease. It is also causally related to many cancers, including lung cancer, and to asbestosis. One of the last known asbestos mines in the US was in Libby MT, which has now been declared to be a Super Fund site and asbestos there has been declared to be "a public health emergency."  Under the recently passed Senate health care reform legislation, Libby MT has been afforded medical benefits under the Medicare program.

While the US has not yet banned the use of asbestos, other nations have, The Republic of South Korea has enacted the final stage of a ban on the the use of asbestos manufactured products as of September 2009. Under the ban, asbestos may not be used to manufacture any children's products or products which asbestos particles may come loose and contact the skin.

Substitutes are available or the use of asbestos fiber. The US Geological Survey reports, "Numerous materials substitute for asbestos in products. Substitutes include calcium silicate, carbon fiber, cellulose fiber, ceramic fiber, glass fiber, steel fiber, wollastonite, and several organic fibers, such as aramid, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polytetrafluoroethylene. Several nonfibrous minerals or rocks, such as perlite, serpentine, silica, and talc, are considered to be possible asbestos substitutes for products in which the reinforcement properties of fibers were not required.."

Many workers, their families and their dependents have filed workers' compensation against former employers and civil actions against the asbestos manufacturers, suppliers and health research groups for the damages including the reimbursement of medical costs. Asbestos litigation has been called "The longest running tort in history."

Click here to read more about asbestos litigation.

A Once-In-A-Generation Chance

The NY Times today called for passage of the Senate version of health care reform and salvage the opportunity for important change in the nation’s health care plan. More emphatically, the Senate version provides an opportunity for change in the way the nation’s century-old workers’ compensation system provides for the delivery of medical care in occupational disease claims.

The paper’s editorial rightly observes that one botched election in Massachusetts, a State that has already met the issue of universal health care, should not encumber the rest of country with horrors of a failed system. The Senate version of health care reform contains an opportunity to experiment and explore the opportunities on embracing the delivery of medical care and medical monitoring into a coordinated and national framework under the Medicare program. In the end it will be able to establish a unified epidemiological database to help prevent and treat occupational illnesses and lead the nation to a safer and healthier work environment.

The efforts of Senator Mat Baucus (D-MT) has made to craft an occupationally health care program has the potential for being the most extensive, effective and innovative system ever enacted for the delivery of medical care to injured workers. Libby Care [see Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Sec. 10323 pp. 2222-2237] , and its envisioned prodigies, will embrace more exposed workers, diseases and geographical locations than any other program of the past. An ancillary benefit will be the integration of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the advancement of greater worker safety through organized data collection and research.

Caring for those who have been the victims of occupational disease has been an illusive goal of the nation’s patchwork of workers’ compensation systems for over a decade. Occupational diseases were a supplement to the compensation system that developed when Industry tried to shield itself from the emerging economic liabilities that silicosis was generating.

History reflects that the system just didn’t work. The longest running tort, asbestos reacted illness, plagued the workers’ compensation system and produced a  plethora of problems that only created more delay and denial of medical care for injured workers.

Economically the costs of direct costs for occupational illnesses and diseases continue to soar. Unfair cost shifting continues. A study in the year 2000 indicated that direct costs amounts to $51.8 Billion per year for hospitals, physicians and drugs. Workers’ compensation was reportedly covering only 27% of the costs and taxpayers were sharing un even share of the burden. The costs of occupational disease amounted for 3% of the gross national product.

The problems of under-reporting of occupational illnesses and disease even compound the reporting the true reality of the issue even further. The recent NY Times and Nebraska Appleseed investigative reports indicate that true numbers are hard to come by because of the fear and intimidation injured employees suffer in reporting claims.

Since the enactment of workers’ compensation in 1911, there has never been a greater opportunity to provide meaningful change to make the workplace healthier and safer. Congress and the President Obama should take advantage of this one-in-a-lifetime chance and make the Senate version of health care reform the law of the nation.

Click here to read more about health care and workers' compensation.

NJ Workers' Compensation Revenue Bills to be Shelved

Bolstered by a united chorus of favorable comments at recent NJ Legislative hearings, the transition team of NJ Governor Christie has urged opposition to any new benefit increases for workers' compensation. The hearings were in response to a series on investigative articles that appeared in The Star Ledger alleging problems existed in the present system.

The transition team has made the following recommendations:

Oppose A-5181 (Egan, Evans) / S-639 (Sarlo, Gill): Increases workers' compensation for loss of hand or foot.
Impact: $20 - $25 million in increased costs to the system.

Oppose A-2846 (Greenstein, DeAngelo) / S-785 (Sweeney, Madden): Extends supplemental disability and dependent benefits for post-1979 claims.
Impact: These added benefits would be paid entirely by employers through an increased surcharge in their Workers' Compensation policy. An analysis by the Office of Special Compensation Funds within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development projects the annual cost to New Jersey employers at $125 million with the potential to be significantly higher if this law change caused New Jersey to lose its "reverse offset" benefit from the Social Security Administration.

Oppose S-1982 (Sweeney): Establishes an ombudsman for injured workers in, but not of, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Impact: This would create an entirely new department within the State government with its incumbent salary and administrative costs. This would also duplicate many of the responsibilities now handled effectively by the Division of Workers' Compensation.

Click here to read more about workers' compensation reform efforts.