Occupational Health and Safety. Specifically

¶ … occupational health and safety. Specifically it will discuss the bill "H.R.242: To direct the Secretary of Labor to revise regulations concerning the recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970." This House of Representative's bill, first mentioned in 2009, would revise certain regulations under OSHA, which would require employers to keep a log onsite for all employee injuries or illnesses, whether the employees work for the business or are contractors, temporary workers, or other employees working on the premises. The bill is still pending, and is referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections since 2009.

This bill's modification would clearly have a long-term effect on employers, since they would not only have to track their own employees, but other workers who might be working at their job site, and that could lead to a variety of other issues. There have been no additions or deletions to the bill since it was first introduced, and for a Congressional bill, it is actually fairly concise and to the point. It has been in committee since 2009, which seems a long time for such a short bill, but some of the ramifications of the bill could point to why it has been in committee for such a long time.

The proposed modifications would accomplish several things. First, if an employer keeps a full record of all the employees on a job site, not just their own employees, they will have a greater understanding of the dangers and illnesses their jobs may lead to or create. They could have a better idea of what dangers their employees face, and this could lead to safer job practices and a safer work facility. It would also allow OSHA to fully track a job site from one source, instead of having to track down several sources, such as subcontractor's or employee temporary services. The purpose of the bill is to group together OSHA data, but also to give a broader picture of health and safety at every employer's site. It seems like a simple step that would make the job safer and more effective at the same time.

The bill would obviously benefit employees, who could look forward to a safer work environment, and it would result in more streamlined reporting for OSHA staff. Employers could benefit too, because they would get a broader picture of their operations by including contractors and other employees on the site. They could get a much better idea of how safe their operations really are, and what improvements they need to make them even safer for all their employees. It would seem that employers might oppose the bill, because it would create more record keeping for them, and it might skew their safety records until the number of cases caught up with the increased number of reported incidents. Counting subcontractors and temporary employees in their accident reports could cause their insurance rates to rise, too, and that would be unfair, since they would be paying for people who were not on their payroll at all.