Confined Space @ TPH
sb admin | January 26, 2007Some of you may recall Mike Caseyâs compelling exposé in the Kansas City Star (Wayback Machine version here) regarding OSHAâs outrageously low fines for safety violations-- even those directly responsible for serious injuries to or even deaths of unsuspecting workers. While OSHA is supposedly committed to levy fines âsufficient to serve as an effective deterrent to violationsââthe punishment rarely fits the crime. According to former OSHA assistant secretary Jerry Scannell, (1989-1992), the current fines are âalmost like chump change with some companies.â
Companies pay the finesâoften…
sb admin | January 26, 2007By David Michaels
Yesterdayâs post by Les Boden on workersâ compensation fraud by employers brings up an important question: How much fraud is there in the comp system and who is responsible?
Insurers and employers have worked diligently to convince the public that the workersâ compensation rolls are filled with malingerers, intent on ripping off the system. The evidence is always anecdotal, like surreptitiously filmed clips of the supposedly disabled workers doing the mambo. If injured workers get the message that they will be labeled as âmalingerersâ if they receive apply workers comp…
sb admin | January 25, 2007Massey Energy, a major US coal mine operator, is boasting that its safety program has won the âhighly covetedâ Golden Pyramid Award. Isnât it a bit peculiar that a mining company where three workers were killed in 2006 would be recognized for its workplace safety and health program? And, we wonder what kind of organization would give Massey this distinction?
You may recall that Masseyâs Aracoma Alma mine was the site of the January 19, 2006 mine fire where coal miners Don Bragg, 33, and Ellery "Elvis" Hatfield, 47, perished underground. Investigations by the State of West VirginiaÂ…
sb admin | January 25, 2007by Les Boden
Today, The New York Times reports on an important study that shows us the tip of the iceberg of employer workersâ compensation fraud.
The Fiscal Policy Institute compared payroll dollars reported to the New York State Workersâ Compensation Board with payroll reported to the unemployment insurance (UI) system. They found that employers report 20% lower payroll to workersâ comp than they do to UI. Workersâ comp premiums are based on reported payroll, so this underreporting is a way of cheating on these premiums.
This is only part of the story, because the Fiscal Policy Institute…
sb admin | January 25, 2007Yesterday, Jordan Barab mothballed his blog Confined Space, and workers and worker advocates lost a powerful online resource. The good news is that weâve gained a political resource, since Jordanâs departure from the blogosphere is due to his new staff position on the US House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. Still, weâll all miss the combination of up-to-the-minute news, biting commentary, and ceaseless advocacy for worker health and safety that have characterized Confined Space since its inception in 2003. (See Revereâs post yesterday for more on how much Jordan has…