OSHA Increasing Fines and Penalties SIGNIFICANTLY!

The days of "playing the numbers game" with fatalities in the workplace vs. fines or worse, litigation and settlements and insurance premiums is coming to an end ... the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) is coming to town. Willful violations will start at $250,000 and go up from

Know Your Worker Rights Under the OSHA Act of 1970

You do not need to work under unsafe conditions. You do not need to be forced to put your own life in danger of serious injury or death. You have a right to come home to your families every day after work.

You have a right to

H.R.2067 - Protecting America's Workers Act of 2009 (PAWA)

Even though the statistics for 2008 appear to show improvement in worker safety, there is very important legislation being developed in the U.S. Congress, one is the Protecting America's Workers Act of 2009 (PAWA. Some highlights of

Fall Protection Violations Are Up and 2nd in top 10 Violations in 2009 So Far!

A preliminary report issued by the National Safety Council shows 6,771 Fall Protection Violations in 2009 so far (as of October) and up about 30% since 2008.

The report does not tally the dollar figure for the violations cited by OSHA, nor the litigation or settlement costs of any fall accidents for the same time period.

See the report here:
http://www.nsc.org/Pages/OSHAReportsonTop10SafetyViolationsfor2009.aspx

Florida Roofing Firm Fined $54,100 for 9 Violations

OSHA cited a Pompano, FL roofing company with 9 violations and $54,100 in fines 6 months after a worker fell 30 feet to his death., because this worker had no fall protection and also because the roofing company continued to expose workers to the very same hazard!

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-bn-0311roofer,0,3202455.story