The recommendations are part of National COSH’s report, Preventable Deaths: The Tragedy of Workplace Fatalities.

The reforms called for are a mix of steps that could be taken by federal OSHA, the U.S. Congress and states.

National COSH recommends federal OSHA should:

• enact its proposed Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2), which would require companies to identify and reduce hazards
• ensure staffing agencies and companies that employ temporary workers are held accountable for providing safe and healthy working conditions
• ensure workers are adequately trained in a language that they understand
• monitor state OSHA programs to ensure they are effectively enforcing workplace safety and health regulations, and
• collect and share information on workplace fatalities so the public can turn these deaths into lessons for prevention.

It recommends Congress should pass:

• immigration reform legislation which would bring undocumented workers out of the shadows and give them protection from retaliation for reporting hazards and injuries
• the Protecting America’s Workers Act which would make felony charges possible when repeat and willful violations result in a worker’s death or serious injury and would increase other OSHA penalties, and
• the Robert Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act which would give MSHA officials the ability to shut down habitually dangerous mines and hold mine operators accountable for putting workers in unnecessary danger.

Finally, National COSH says states should:

• coordinate enforcement with various labor department offices, such as wage and hour divisions and workers’ compensation programs (California, Massachusetts and New Jersey have these programs)
• pass legislation to protect temporary workers on the job (Massachusetts has a law that requires temporary staffing agencies to give each worker a written job order)
• pass responsible contractor laws to ensure taxpayer funds aren’t used to provide public works contracts to employers who cut corners on safety, and
• pass legislation for minimum penalty amounts for citations related to workplace fatalities (Minnesota legislation would require a $25,000 minimum find and $50,000 for cases involving repeat or willful violations).

What do you think about these proposals? Let us know in the comments below.

The post On Workers’ Memorial Day, safety group recommends ways to reduce deaths appeared first on Safety News Alert.

Ceremonies to remember people who died on the job will take place across the U.S. and around the world.

On average, 12 workers die each day at work in the U.S. In 2010, the most recent year records are available, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 4,547 employee fatalities.

That number has been decreasing most years, but not by a lot.

The United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities has a list of memorial ceremonies on its website. The organization also manages the website Weekly Toll which contains photos and information about employees killed on the job in the U.S.

OSHA also has a webpage that documents weekly reports of fatalities in the workplace.

If you are in charge of safety at your workplace, this might be a good day to remind employees about the importance of safety and the consequences when it’s ignored.

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Ron and Dotty Hayes of Fairhope, AL, started Families in Grief Hold Together (F.I.G.H.T.) after their son died in a 1993 workplace incident.

Patrick Hayes, 19, was working in a grain silo — his first day on a job for which he hadn’t been trained — when he suffocated under 60 tons of corn.

In their grief, the Hayeses sought information about their son’s death from local, state and federal authorities for two years without getting many answers.

According to their Facebook page, that’s when it became clear to the Hayeses that the only way to deal with their grief was to learn everything they could about workplace safety, and help other families in similar situations.

F.I.G.H.T. is dedicated to helping families and workers deal with the consequences of fatalities and injuries. It’s their way of honoring their son.

Ron Hayes believes his efforts have also helped influence revisions in OSHA’s grain-handling standards.

Faces campaign

Another organization, the United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities (USMWF), offers support, resources and advocacy to people affected by preventable work-related deaths or serious injuries.

It also personalizes workplace fatalities with its Faces campaign.

We’ve all heard the numbers: 14 U.S. workers are killed on the job every day. More than 4,000 are killed each year.

The Faces campaign takes those statistics and puts a human face on them through its website.

USMWF also tracks recent workplace deaths through its website Weekly Toll.

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The statistics on workplace deaths and injuries in the U.S. are sobering:

• In 2008, 5,071 U.S. workers died from workplace injuries — that’s 14 per day.
• 49,000 deaths annually are attributed to work-related illnesses.
• In 2008, an estimated 4.6 million workers had a nonfatal workplace injury or illness; 40%-50% of these workers were transferred, placed on work restrictions or took time away from work.
• 3.4 million workers were treated in emergency rooms for occupational injuries and illnesses in 2007.
• 94,000 were hospitalized in 2007 from workplace incidents.
• Employers and insurers spent nearly $85 billion on workers’ compensation in 2007.

And those workers’ comp costs are just a fraction of the costs to employers for worker injuries. Other costs include training replacement workers, incident investigations, lost productivity, damaged equipment and property, and legal expenses.

On this Workers’ Memorial Day — and any day at work — what messages are you sending to employees about workplace injuries and deaths? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

The post Workers’ Memorial Day: Remembering fatalities and injuries appeared first on Safety News Alert.