Lag in OSHA Inspections May Have Put Workers at Risk

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 | 0

With “most” Occupation Safety and Health Administration inspections performed remotely during the pandemic, “workplace hazards may remain unidentified and unabated longer, thereby leaving more employees vulnerable,” the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor stated in its Semiannual Report to Congress, issued Thursday.

The report, which includes details on the OIG’s oversight of all Department of Labor programs in place since the start of the pandemic, stated that OSHA “has received an influx of complaints” at the same time it “had to reduce the number of its inspections, particularly on-site inspections, as a way to reduce person-to-person contact.”

OSHA received 15% more complaints in 2020 but performed 13,164 fewer inspections, a 50% drop compared with a similar period in 2019, according to the report.

“Therefore, the risk that OSHA may not ensure the level of protection that workers need at various job sites has increased,” the report reads. “OSHA’s on-site presence during inspections has historically resulted in timely mitigation efforts for at least a portion of the hazards identified.”

While OSHA has issued several guidance documents to improve safety during the pandemic, the report said they don’t carry the weight of official rules or standards.

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19 more than a year ago, OSHA has not issued an emergency temporary standard for airborne infectious diseases that could protect employees’ health and safety at work sites,” according to the report.

OSHA has since sent a draft of an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from COVID-19 to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review. The draft emergency temporary standard was part of an executive order by President Joe Biden, who called on OSHA to create an emergency standard by March 15 to protect workers.

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