OSHA is one of the most embattled and politicized agencies in the government. In one attempt to quell its critics, OSHA will frequently agree to list certain employer workplace safety violations as "unclassified" rather than as the more reputation-damaging "willful" or "repeat" classification. But this policy can have fatal consequences.On February 9, 1999, OSHA announced a $383,500 penalty against a government contractor for the August 23, 1998 death of one employee and serious injury of another. The contractor was engaged in lead paint removal at the Cutler Naval Air Station in Cutler, Maine. The company was cited by the agency for alleged willful and repeat violations of OSHA's scaffolding standards. However, nearly one year to the day earlier, OSHA had inspected this same contractor, cited them with a $70,000 penalty for a willful scaffolding violation and had used its discretionary authority to list the violation as "unclassified." What is the significance?
A computer database search of OSHA violation records revealed the subject contractor had a substantial prior inspection history including willful, repeat and numerous scaffolding and fall protection standard violations. If OSHA had not appeased the company by downgrading the prior scaffolding violation, taken seriously its responsibility to enforce their own regulations and the federal government had refused to award contracts to companies with poor safety records (as has been much discussed but little acted upon), the death of that employee might very well have been prevented.
"It is ironic that under the Reagan and Bush administrations," said Matthew Carmel, president of OSHA DATA, "workers had better protections than those afforded under current Democratic policies."
Copyright 1999 OSHA DATA (tm), Maplewood, NJ.
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