Labor & Employment Law

New Mine and Workplace Safety Legislation on Horizon

By Mike Hall

Stronger enforcement tools, tougher penalties and broader workers? rights are at the center of soon-to-be introduced workplace safety legislation.

The bill?s crafters say they were spurred by the deadly Massey Energy Upper Big Branch explosion that killed 29 coal miners; the Tesoro refinery blast that claimed the lives of seven Washington State workers; the BP oil rig blast that killed 11, the Connecticut Kleen Energy Systems explosion where six workers died and other recent workplace disasters.

The outline of the proposed job safety bill focuses on mine safety, but also includes provisions to strengthen worker safety protections in all workplaces. House and Senate leaders, including Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.),  announced the new job safety package this morning.

Miller, chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, says the April 5 Upper Big Branch blast highlighted the ?significant problems? in mine safety laws.

Mine operators who callously and repeatedly put their workers in danger must be held accountable. It is clear that current law does not provide sufficient protections to miners who go underground every day.

Pointing to ?bad actors who have put profits ahead of people,? Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, says:

In mines around the country and in other workplaces as well, worker safety has not been a priority? As a consequence, workers have lost vital protections, suffered significant injuries and, in too many cases, lost their lives.  We are determined to put sharper teeth in our workplace safety laws and to step up federal enforcement.

According to a summary of the upcoming legislation, the bill would crack down on serial safety violators of mine safety rules by revamping the criteria for placing a mine in what is a called ?pattern of violations? (POV) status. That launches tougher enforcement and stronger penalties.

A computer programming error kept the Upper Big Branch mine out of that enhanced safety program. A recent investigation by the Department of Labor?s Office of the Inspector General found serious flaws in Bush administration changes in POV policies. The current leaders of the Mine Safety and Health Administration are revising POV procedures.

The bill would guarantee miners the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions, a right that is written into every Mine Workers (UMWA) contract. Non-union miners have long said they fear employer retaliation if they speak out about mine safety problems.

It also would strengthen whistleblower protections for workers who speak out about unsafe conditions or who testify in safety investigations.

Under the bill, MSHA would have stronger enforcement tools, including the authority to subpoena documents and testimony and seek court orders to close a mine when there is a continuing threat to the health and safety of miners. It also increases civil and criminal penalties for mine owners who violate safety laws.

The proposed bill?s summary says that to guarantee safety in other workplaces, it would strengthen whistleblower protections, increase criminal and civil penalties and speed up hazard abatement. In addition, victims of accidents and their family members would be provided greater rights during investigations and enforcement actions.

Those provisions strengthening the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) were taken from the Protecting America?s Workers Act which was introduced earlier this year and has already been the subject of House and Senate hearings.

Click here for the full summary.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash), chairwoman of the Employment and Workplace  safety subcommittee says:

Some of the country?s workplace fatalities receive national attention?like the explosions at the Tesoro refinery in Washington or Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia?but the vast majority get little attention beyond the affected family and friends. Workers everywhere and in every industry deserve to be able to feel confident that while they are working hard and doing their jobs, their employers are doing everything possible to keep them safe.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on June 29, 2010 (boomark / email).