Labor Department Says Focus is on Worker Safety, Fair Wages
New rules to improve workplace safety, monitor employer compliance, track ergonomics injuries, bring union-busting consultants out of the shadows and ensure fair wages and overtime pay top the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulatory agenda.
Says Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in a video statement on the department’s website:
Protecting wages and working conditions is the key mission of our department. Insuring workers have a voice on the job is also vital….We are committed to ensuring that workers are paid a fair wage and have a voice in the workplace.
OSHA, MSHA Move on Bush-Stalled Health and Safety Rules
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is moving forward on several new workplace safety measures that languished for years under the Bush administration. The move follows last week’s unveiling of the Obama administration’s Labor Department budget that boosts OSHA’s funding by $51 million and includes the hiring of 160 new safety inspectors.
According to the Labor Department’s regulatory agenda released yesterday, the safety agency will move on several rules stalled under Bush’s OSHA, including rules to protect workers from exposure to dangerous substances and chemicals such as silica (which can cause serious respiratory disease), diacetyl (a flavoring additive linked to “popcorn lung”) and beryllium (a light metal that can cause lung damage, especially to metal and dental workers).
Solis Set to Announce Two Key Job Safety and Health Rules
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will announce today that the Labor Department is moving forward to develop two new major workplace safety rules to protect workers from combustible dust explosions—such as the one that killed 13 workers at a Georgia sugar plant last year—and from a dangerous chemical that causes “popcorn lung,” according to the Associated Press (AP). The rules could take up to a year or two to finalize.
Solis will make the announcement at a Workers Memorial Day ceremony this afternoon at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md. We will bring you a report from the event, that includes breaking ground for a new national workers memorial later today.
