Worker Safety and Health

January 2 marks the third anniversary of the Sago mine tragedy, in which 12 miners died after being trapped by an explosion. Chairman Miller offers his condolences to the miners’ families and promises to work toward improved health and safety for all miners and workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor is failing to effectively enforce the nation’s child labor laws, witnesses told the Workforce Protection Subcommittee today.  According to a study by the National Consumers League, the number of child labor investigations decreased dramatically during the Bush administration: The number of child labor investigations conducted by the Labor Department in 2006 was at the lowest in at least a decade.  Meanwhile, research by the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, a coalition of migrant and seasonal agricultural nonprofit and public agencies, indicates that approximately 400,000 children under the age of 18 work in the fields to help support their families. While there are numerous restrictions on what dangerous job functions underage workers may perform, there are few protections if those children happen to work in agriculture.  Agricultural child labor rules have remained largely unchanged since signed into law in 1938. At that time, a quarter of all American lived on farms and the majority of the agricultural work was performed on the family farm. Unlike counterparts in other industries, minors working in agriculture are still permitted to log in more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay.

A last-minute Department of Labor proposal could undermine future health and safety protections for American workers, witnesses told the Workforce Protections Subcommittee today.  The Washington Post recently reported that the proposal was developed by political appointees in secret with little consultation with career agency health and safety experts. The proposal only gives 30 days for comment and provides for no public hearings. Critics say that the Department of Labor proposal would add additional layers of red tape to an already slow regulatory process, even for those initiatives being considered. The Bush administration has only issued one health-related standard over the past eight years, which it was forced to complete under a court-ordered deadline.

This hearing examined the Department of Labor’s last-minute proposal that would dramatically weaken future workplace health standards and further slow their enactment. The department allowed only 30 days for comment on the proposal and would not hold public hearings.

On Wednesday, September 17, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee will hold a hearing examining the Department of Labor's last-minute proposal that would dramatically weaken future workplace health standards and further slow their enactment. The department has allowed only 30 days for comment on the proposal and will not hold public hearings.

"Secret Rule: Impact of the Department of Labor’s Worker Health Risk Assessment Proposal"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 10:00 a.m. EDT
 

One year ago today, six coal miners were trapped after a series of catastrophic – yet preventable – events resulted in the collapse of the Crandall Canyon Mine. Our nation became transfixed on the heroic attempts to save the miners and prayed that everyone would return to their families unharmed. On this sad anniversary, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, and communities who lost loved ones in the mine and the rescue attempt.

Chairman George Miller and other House Democrats introduced legislation last night to prevent the Department of Labor from finalizing a last minute rule that could dramatically weaken future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment.  The “Prohibiting the Department of Labor’s Secret Rule Act” (H.R. 6660) will forbid the Department of Labor from issuing, administering or enforcing any rule, regulation, or requirement derived from the proposal submitted to the Office of Management and Budget on July 7.  Chairman Miller and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy first requested information regarding the draft rule on July 10, when it was revealed that the department was working on a last-minute change to the regulatory process that may significantly inhibit the implementation of critical health and safety regulations.  On July 23, Miller and Kennedy requested that the Department withdraw the rule.

“Congress will not stand for any backdoor effort by the political appointees to further cripple our nation’s ability to respond to vital health and safety concerns. This entire effort is the product of a flawed, politicized process that has failed to properly consider the views of experts or the consequences for workplace health.” -- Chairman George Miller

 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued an $8.77 million citation to Imperial Sugar for the fatal February explosion that killed 13 workers and seriously injured dozens of others at the company’s sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia.

This unfortunate tragedy didn’t have to happen. The Chemical Safety Board urged OSHA in 2006 to adopt rules that could prevent more deaths and injuries caused by combustible dust explosions. OSHA ignored those recommendations. The agency tasked by Congress to protect the health and safety of American workers has failed to aggressively address this deadly problem.

Today, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) fined the operator of Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine $1.85 million for the disaster that was the site of the worst coal mining tragedy of 2007. Pillars of coal supporting a roof burst, sending coal flying and creating enough force to register a 3.9 on the Richter scale. Rubble blocked every exit, entombing six miners somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 feet underground. Three courageous rescuers who attempted to reach them also died in the rescue effort.  Crandall Canyon Mine is operated by Genwal Resources Inc., whose parent company is Murray Energy Corp.

This morning, the Washington Post exposed the Bush administration’s latest ploy that could radically change the way health and safety regulations are issued. This secret regulation is a clear attempt by the Bush administration and the business community to fundamentally weaken the scientific process for enacting new regulations that protect American workers. 

Today, Senator Kennedy and I demanded that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao withdraw this rule immediately and turn over all communications with outside special interests and other documents relating to proposed rule. You can read the letter here.

The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s lack of adequate enforcement and oversight of workplace safety and health conditions within large, multiple-facility corporations.

Witnesses explored events at the Cintas Corporation, the largest uniform supplier in North America. In 2007, a worker died at the company’s Tulsa facility despite previous evidence, known to both OSHA and Cintas, of similar hazards at other Cintas facilities and industrial laundries. The death resulted in the largest service sector fine in OSHA’s history and was followed by additional citations of similar problems at other Cintas facilities.

The Committee held a hearing on legislation to help prevent worksite explosions like the one at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, in early February 2008 that killed 12 workers and critically injured 11 others.

The Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act (H.R. 5522) would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules regulating combustible industrial dusts, like sugar dust, that can build up to hazardous levels and explode. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration already has the authority to issue such a rule without Congress passing new legislation, but the agency has failed to act despite the fact that the dangers of combustible dust have been well known for years.

U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and John Barrow (D-GA) introduced the legislation on March 4, 2008. To learn more about H.R. 5522, <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel030308.html">click here</a>.