The First Facility Management Blog

America’s workers suffer more workplace injury and illness than employers report, and medical professionals are under pressure from employers to misdiagnose and under-treat work related health conditions, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report confirms what workers and worker advocacy organizations have known for a long time—Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) statistics do not reflect the real risk workers face from workplace hazards.

“The consequences of misdiagnosis, missing medical treatment, and misinformation are real and deadly for America’s working families. Under reporting is not just a technical violation of the law. Resource allocation, from inspections to the targeting of specific hazards, depends on accurate reporting. Injuries and disease that could have been prevented needlessly take a toll in workers’ lives and well being as a result,” according to Eric Frumin, Health and Safety Coordinator for Change to Win.

As the report indicates, the motivation for employer abuse is built into the system. There are few incentives or protections for workers or medical professionals who resist employer intimidation.

For employers, fewer reported injuries often mean fewer OSHA inspections and lower workers compensation costs. For workers, seemingly benign employer sponsored programs to reward work groups with the fewest reported injuries or illnesses are a thinly veiled effort to discourage accurate reporting. And medical professionals report direct pressure from employers to under diagnose or even withhold treatment in order to keep the severity of injuries and illnesses below the reporting threshold.

Most importantly, the report reveals the pervasive level of fear workers have in reporting an injury or illness. More than two-thirds of health professionals observed worker fear in reporting.

“This is an unparalleled abuse of a basic workplace law that is fundamental to the lives and health of America’s working families. Congress should act now on the Protecting America’s Workers Act. The Act would specifically prohibit current under reporting abuses and give OSHA the means to correct the abuses. Workers must also have a voice at work. Too often employers can easily silence workers and suppress their rights. A worker voice means safer workplaces,” said Frumin.

The report was requested by U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), and U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). For a PDF of the report, send an e-mail with the words “GAO/OSHA Injury Report” in the subject line to tfm@groupc.com.

Eric Frumin and Ms. Morrow

While testifying before the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections regarding stronger Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement, Change to Win Health and Safety Coordinator Eric Frumin called for stronger criminal sanctions for ignoring safety hazards that lead to a worker’s death or serious injury. Frumin singled out Waste Management, Inc., the industrial laundry giant Cintas Corporation, steel pipe manufacturer McWane, Inc., and BP North America as examples of employers whose failure to fix known hazards led to fatalities.

The stepson of a Florida Waste Management mechanic who was gruesomely killed on the job testified as well. Jesus Rojas told the Subcommittee that his stepfather Raul Figueroa was nearly cut in half by a malfunctioning hydraulic arm on a garbage truck — and that the company attempted to backdate safety records after the incident. OSHA had cited Waste Management repeatedly, at locations throughout the country, for serious hazards.

The House Subcommittee held the hearing to examine a March 31, 2009 report by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor regarding lapses under OSHA’s Enhanced Enforcement Program.

In addition to stronger criminal penalties, Frumin called for more comprehensive corporate-wide reporting of hazards, expanded OSHA investigatory capability, more national OSHA alerts on companies with “high severity” hazards, and enhanced corporate follow up.

“Companies like Waste Management should not be allowed to cut corners and compromise safety. They need to provide enough staff to make sure workers are safe on the job,” Mr. Rojas said during a powerful address to the Committee. “They need to be punished when they backdate safety records to cover up flaws in their safety procedures.” 

Cintas worker Eleazar Torres-Gomez was killed in 2007 in the company’s Tulsa, OK, laundry after being pulled into a 300 degree dryer by an unguarded conveyor. OSHA cited the company’s Long Island facility for the same violations in 2005. Internal memos made public by the Wall Street Journal show that Cintas upper-management was aware that this lack of guarding could be fatal.

Frumin also called on Congress to pass the Corporate Injury, Illness, and Fatality Reporting Act introduced by Rep. Phil Hare, D-IL, earlier this week.

“OSHA needs to know where corporate leaders are hiding the evidence of mismanagement,” said Frumin. “The EEP still lacks the proper focus on multiple, severe workplace hazards and violations, and needs further strengthening.”

“Enforcement after workers die is not really enforcement at all. We need real change,” continued Frumin. “That is the change America voted for last year, and we are more than willing to work with Congress, with responsible employers, and with others to see that American workers receive that change.”