The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is requesting $565,010,000 for FY 2015, an increase of $7,987,000 compared to this fiscal year. The request submitted yesterday as part of the Department of Labor’s budget proposal includes:
- an additional $4 million and 27 full-time positions to support the agency’s whistleblower program, including enforcement and database management. Since 2009, the number of new whistleblower cases has grown by 37 percent per year.
- $3.5 million to ensure state-run agencies have the resources they need to operate programs that are as effective as federal OSHA’s enforcement programs.
OSHA’s budget request includes two proposed amendments to its appropriation language: 1) increasing the amount of money the agency may retain from training institute course tuition and fees from $200,000 to $499,000 per fiscal year; and 2) allowing targeted inspections of small establishments with the potential for catastrophic incidents.
Overall, OSHA's budget focuses on “making significant, tangible and positive differences in the lives of the American people; producing results that are measurable; and fostering continuous improvements in agency operations and outcomes." OSHA and its state plan partners employ approximately 2,200 inspectors responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers at 8 million U.S. worksites.
I think the time has come for there to be a requirement that employers educate employees during orientation phase as well as at the time of an occurence, regarding their duties and responsibilities as well as options. Most employees are unaware of this, and in in spite of a serious injury, are afraid of losing their job, should they seek medical care through the Workmen's Compensation Board. Many are treated by their private physician, who fail to inform them of the law governing work-related injuries, and wind up being fired for excessive absences, which were related to the injury. Others, when symptoms become unbearable, then decide to seek a physician approved by the WCB, only to find that the filing period has elapsed. Medicaid and Public assistance are their last recourse. Rent bills accumulate during this period and some have been dispossessed
The usual tendency is to demonize the employee, isolate them and delay submission of incident/accident report to OSHA and insurance carrier. This contributes to the frequent delays in approval of treatment and benefit payments.