Thursday, November 05, 2009
OSHA Website change highlights worker deaths
Worker deaths now are front and center on the homepage of OSHA's Website.
In October, the Website began featuring a rotating box with a brief description of worker deaths, such as "Worker fell 9 feet from a tubular welded scaffold while performing drywall work" or "Worker was electrocuted while performing service work on a vending machine." Above each description is a link to weekly fatality and catastrophe reports from the Directorate of Enforcement Programs.
Approved by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, the decision to post the figures was made as part of the Obama administration's "commitment to open government and to provide employers and workers with information they could use to help assure worker health and safety in their own establishments," an OSHA spokesperson said.