Sen. Mike Enzi is ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Today’s HELP Committee hearing, titled “When a Worker is Killed: Do OSHA Penalties Enhance Workplace Safety?” highlights the need for Congress to think outside the box to establish effective, innovative strategies to enhance workplace safety and prevent on-the-job injuries and fatalities.

Certainly, penalties are part of the equation, but no penalty can make up for the loss of a loved one. That’s why instead of talking just about punishments after injuries or fatalities occur, I wish we were holding a hearing on preventing fatalities, injuries, and even near-misses from occurring in the first place. More can be done and needs to be done so that no family has to deal with the loss of a loved one who has died on the job.

I plan to build on the provisions of the “Safety Advancement for Employees (SAFE) Act,” which I introduced during the last Congress. The SAFE Act would provide incentives to improve workplace safety. It included provisions to help the vast majority of employers working in good faith to achieve compliance with safety laws, while allowing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to target more effectively the few bad actors who willfully place their employees at risk.

There are several workplace safety programs that have been proven to be effective, including the Voluntary Protection Programs, workplace drug-testing, and Workplace Compensation Insurance strategies, which vary from state to state. These programs have been able to make workplaces safer and even save money.

Let’s take a look at the best practices out there and determine how these programs can be translated to the federal level. I have worked throughout my career on legislation to help businesses, especially small business, comply with workplace safety regulations, and to reward employers who go above and beyond to create safe work environments. I will continue working toward these goals. We need to think outside the box to develop new strategies to enhance workplace safety – no option should be taken off the table.

Statistics show that workplace fatalities are decreasing. In 2006 the fatal work injury rate was 3.9 per 100,000 workers, the lowest level since the federal government began collecting this data in 1992. Young workers and Hispanic employees have seen a significant decrease in fatality rates. However, more work needs to be done so that every employee can come home safely at the end of the day.

Although the rates are improving overall, the presence of two witnesses today who have lost loved ones reminds us that every loss is one too many. By looking seriously at the whole issue — and making no subject off limits — we can pay them the best tribute of real progress in reducing workplace fatalities.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 9:54 am and is filed under Politics, Labor .