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Archive for February, 2010
$14M OSHA Budget Increase for 2011 with Emphasis on Enforcement
Last week, Hilda Solis, the Secretary of Labor, went through the rationale behind the Department of Labor’s (DOL) FY 2011 budget request, which includes a $14M increase for OSHA. In addition to supporting President Obama’s repeated calls for creating new jobs, the message is crystal clear that the increase’s emphasis will be on enforcement.
This makes sense, considering the Administration’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) announced last fall, and reinforces OSHA’s approach of using the hammer to get compliance, as in the record $87M fine levied against BP in 2009 for the 2005 Texas City oil refinery explosion.
Secretary Solis said, “Today’s budget affirms this administration’s strong commitment to vigorous enforcement. With the largest fine in OSHA’s history and more egregious cases, we are sending a strong message throughout industry that we will not tolerate the endangerment of workers. We will continue those efforts with a number of new and innovative enforcement initiatives in the coming year.”
The take away from this is that now, more than ever, it will pay to be proactive in managing safety programs, in more ways than one. In addition to protecting employees, OSHA’s making it clear that their plan includes heavy penalties for offenders.
Is your Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) up to date, effectively implemented, and is everyone trained? If you need help getting your safety or training programs up to speed, give us a call or send us an email. We’re here to help you succeed.
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