Bituminous Insurance Companies

AFL–CIO Report on Worker Safety

Release Date: May 24, 2010

The AFL-CIO has release their 2010 edition of "Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect." This is the 19^th year that the AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America's workers. The report contains both data (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and commentary on the state of affairs of workers.

The following lists some interesting highlights from the report based on AFL-CIO research for the year 2008.

In 2008, 4.6 million work-related injuries were reported; 5,214 workers were killed on the job; and the national fatality rate was 3.7 per 100,000 workers.
The high fatality rate states were - Wyoming (11.6 per 100,000); Alaska (9.9); Montana (8.3); North Dakota (7.8); and South Dakota (6.9).
The lowest fatality rate states were - New Hampshire (1.0 per 100,000); Rhode Island (1.2); Connecticut (1.6); Massachusetts (2.1); and Maryland (2.1).
Latino workers had a fatality rate of 4.2 per 100,000 workers and 804 fatal injuries.
The construction sector had the largest number of fatal work injuries (975) in 2008.
Highway crashes continue to be the leading cause of workplace deaths, responsible for 2,130 or 41 percent of all fatalities in 2008.
Ergonomic injuries still are the biggest job-safety hazard faced by workers.
Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 29 percent of all serious workplace injuries.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had 885 inspectors and the state OSHA plans had 1,333 state inspectors. There are about 8 million workplaces under the OSH Act's jurisdiction.

According to the AFL-CIO, criminal penalties under the OSHA law are weak and limited to cases where a willful violation results in a worker death and are only a misdemeanor. Since 1970, only 79 cases have been prosecuted, with defendants serving a total of 89 months in jail. During this time, there were more than 360,000 worker deaths.

By comparison, in FY 2009, there were 387 criminal enforcement cases initiated under federal environmental laws and 200 defendants charged, resulting in 76 years of jail time and $96 million in penalties - more cases, fines, and jail time in one year than during OSHA’s entire history.

The entire report that also covers mine safety may be found at http://www.aflcio.org/issues/safety/memorial/doj_2010.cfm.

The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.