Unions Sue Trump Admin for Shelving Standard That Would Protect America’s Healthcare Workers From Exposure to Infectious Diseases

Today, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), and the United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) sued Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for unlawfully delaying rulemaking on an occupational standard to protect healthcare workers from infectious diseases transmitted by contact, droplets, or air — like influenza, COVID-19, and Ebola. In 2017, the Trump administration tabled work on an Infectious Diseases Standard. It has refused to move forward with the standard amid a catastrophic pandemic — and despite the pleas of healthcare professionals. The administration’s unreasonable delay violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).

Safety Incentive Programs: Lawful? Effective?

Today's guest author is Jon Rehm, Esq. of the Nebraska bar.

The ” _____ days without an accident sign” is a common feature in many workplaces. These signs are often parts of employer safety incentive programs. These programs intend to reduce work injuries which should reduce workers’ compensation expenses for business.

Often these programs include money or other financial incentives for employees. The use of programs that financially rewards employees presents three questions to me. Are these programs lawful, are they effective and are their other ways to improve workplace safety?

Are employer incentive programs lawful?

In 2018 the Department of Labor reversed Obama era regulatory guidance that safety incentive programs would violate OSHA anti-retaliation rules. The concern of the previous administration was that safety incentive programs discouraged reporting of injuries. But even the Trump DOL believes that a lawful safety incentive program must include anti-retaliation training and also address “near misses” or incidents that were nearly accidents so as not to discourage the reporting of workers’ compensation claims.

OSHA regulations largely address how that federal agency enforces workplace safety law. Employees can’t sue their employers for violations of OSHA. But in certain industries, OSHA allows whistleblower cases for employees reporting unsafe work condtions. Similarly, state laws can allow employees to being retaliation cases for reporting safety problems and or reporting a work injury. Safety incentive programs that penalize workers for injuries could violate anti-retaliation laws depending on how they are designed.

Are safety incentive programs effective?

Safety experts have questioned the effectiveness of directly rewarding employees for not being hurt. These experts believe that these programs lead employees to cover up injuries which could cover up bigger safety issues. Philadelphia attorney Richard Jaffe criticized safety incentive programs because they are premised on the fact that employees create unsafe conditions. Put another way, the programs are premised on the assumption that employees are to blame for getting hurt.

There is powerful anecdote about the failure of some safety incentive programs. The Massey Energy Upper Big Branch Mine explosion killed 29 West Virginia minors in 2010. Massey’s CEO Don Blankenship had a safety incentive program that included sporting equipment and luxury goods for minors who didn’t miss work for accidents. Blankenship was convicted of violating safety standards in connection with the Upper Big Branch explosion.

The Upper Big Branch explosion coupled with the callousness of Don Blankenship is an extreme example of what could go wrong with employee safety incentive programs.

So what works?

Safety programs that involve employees working with management are the most effective. Employee input is critical because employees often have the most knowledge about a job. They also have a strong incentive to avoid injury.

Unions give employees a say in their workplace. Not surprisingly, studies in the United Statesand Canada show unionized workplaces are safer than non-unionized workplaces. Scholars have coined the term “union safety dividend” to describe the workplace safety benefits associated with unions.

I think unions are a better safety tool than programs that target worker behavior because they don’t assume that workers are at fault for their injuries. There are times where an employee may be at fault or share fault for an injury. But that’s why workers compensation pays limited benefits regardless of fault. Workplace safety programs that incorporate employee and employer viewpoints realize that risks in the workplace can come from employer, employee and third parties like equipment manufacturers.

NLRB Rejects Northwestern University Football Payers' Bid to Unionize

Ryan Field, Northwestern's 49,000 seat football stadium. ‪

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The NLRB has rejected a bid by the football players at Northwestern University to unionize. The decision, ironically, did not decide whether or not the football scholarship players were employees.

Are unions necessary?

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.latimes.com

Short answer: Yes.

The question is posed by an exchange launched by Evan Soltas at Bloomberg View, and answered by Michael Wasser of the workers rights organization Jobs for Justice. Soltas has defended himself against Wasser's response, so this could go on for a while.

The discussion was inspired by the recent defeat of a United Auto Workers drive at the Chattanooga, Tenn., plant of Volkswagen, which we discuss here. The case has inspired lots of commentary about the long-term decline of industrial unions in the U.S. and the role of that trend in the increasing of income inequality. The two trends coincide, so there really is no question that the decline of workers' voice and worker rights resulting from the decline of unions has played an important role in the rising power of the shareholding and managerial class.

One hates to say of a writer as fluent as Soltas that his analysis lacks the depth that would come from experience, but Wasser is certainly correct in arguing that Soltas' argument that the U.S. is better off without unions and "unions can't be saved" reflects the limitations of textbook-learning. A few specific issues:

To think that federal labor law has had "little to do" with union decline, as Soltas puts it, is hopelessly naive. He's misled by the fact that union membership has fallen even though we have laws guaranteeing the right to collective bargaining, and by the failure to recognize how inadequately those...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Read more about "unions":
What really caused the decline of American unions? - Workers ...
Mar 09, 2014
In that vote the union wasn't opposed by the company but by Republican political leaders across Tennessee, who threatened to destroy the plant by withdrawing public subsidies if the union won. The vote was close, 53% to ...
http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Kansas, The Next Target: Unions expect ...
Dec 15, 2013
The project labor agreement changes stop government entities from requiring union-level wages on jobs. Unemployment benefits were changed to allow employers to avoid paying benefits if the employee broke even minor ...
http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Supreme Court 2013: Court Could Cripple Unions In Major Labor ...
Nov 05, 2013
Over the next few months, the Supreme Court will hear two major cases that could prove a major setback to unions' ability to organize and collect dues -- and the conservative majority on the court is making pro-labor ...
http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

The Triangle Fire Airs on PBS Feb 28, 2011

It was the deadliest workplace accident in New York City’s history. A dropped cigarette on the 8th floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sparked a fire that killed over a hundred innocent people trapped inside. The private industry of the American factory would never be the same.


Airs on American Experience on PBS Feb. 28, 2011 at 9:00pm on most PBS stations. Commemorating the workers' compensation centennial.

Jackie K. Cooper writes in the Huffington Post, "The conditions and events shown in this story will lead viewers to reflect on many of the battles occurring in our nation today. The balance between union and non-union forces is still a delicate one. We also see how far we have come in the protection of workers and the conditions under which they toil."

Related articles

• 100 Years Later, the Roll of the Dead in a Factory Fire is Complete
• Morning Read: The Year of the Anniversary (observer.com)
• Remembering the Triangle Factory Fir - 100 Years Later
• PBS Documentary Commemorates the 100 Year Old Fire (NY Daily News)
• The Triangle Fire "An American Tragedy" (Huffington Post)  
• New York Times, March 26, 1911, p. 1. "141 Men and Girls Die in Waist Factory Fire; Trapped High Up in Washington Place Building; Street Strewn with Bodies; Piles of Dead Inside."