News releases as auguries of OSHA enforcement
Has the character of OSHA changed from the Bush to the Obama administrations? The proof of the pudding may be in the reading of news releases.
A post by Celeste Monforton on The Pump Handle, which bills itself as the “water cooler for the public health crowd,” makes the case that if you compare OSHA news releases from the two administrations, you will see a difference.
Here is what she found by comparing Bush-OSHA and Obama-OSHA news releases for the first seven months of the agency under new directors, Foulke and Michaels, respectively.
- Total number of news releases was approximately the same, 284 during the Bush months, 262 in Obama time.
- News releases related to announcing alliances and recognizing the safety performance of businesses and organizations predominated during Bush time, 48% of total releases, while only 8% of releases under the Obama administration touched on this topic.
- News releases reporting on specific enforcement cases including the names of violating employers, types and severity of violations, and proposed monetary penalties, comprise nearly 55% of the news releases in the seven-month Obama-OSHA period. During the comparable Bush period, less than one-third of news releases touched on enforcement matters.
This type of data doesn’t reveal whether the numbers of inspections and citations are increasing or if the nature of alliances is changing from one administration to the other, explains Monforton. But if the current administration is intent on showing that there is a new sheriff in town, it is doing a good job publicizing its actions, she adds.
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David LaHoda
David LaHoda is the managing editor of the OSHA Healthcare Advisor, the weekly ezine OSHA Healthcare Connection, Medical Environment Update, HCPro's Basic OSHA Compliance Manual Kits for medical or dental practices, and the OSHA online training materials for ambulatory healthcare facilities.
David has written 792 posts.
Comments
It will remain to be seen what Obama’s OSHA does, in spite of the pro-enforcement rumblings. The numbers show George W. Bush’s OSHA was a substantially tougher enforcer than Bill Clinton’s version. You just can’t guess what will happen based on the political party.
Trade unions are always pro-enforcement and certainly seem to have a loud voice in the Obama administration, but politics as always complicates matters. We’ll just have to see how much is bark and how much is bite.
Is there a website that someone could direct me to that provides information about names of violating employers, types and severity of violations, and proposed monetary penalties? I am especially interested in such information for California. Many thanks for your help.
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