Workplace safety has been touted as a top priority for the Obama Administration. Increased safety measures, however, often come at a high price for employers. A number of failed bills introduced during the Bush Administration will likely get a second viewing by the 111th Congress. These measures include:

• Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAWA) (H.R. 2049, S. 1244). This Act amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSH Act”) by, among other things, increasing civil and criminal penalties for employer violations, lowering the threshold for holding an employer criminally responsible for an employee’s death, and providing for felony charges for an employer’s repeated and willful violations that result in a worker’s death or serious injury. Additionally, revised regulations would likely require employers to go even beyond their current obligations, and shoulder the entire financial burden in providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees.
• Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2008 (CDEFA) (H.R. 5522). This act would mandate a final rule regulating combustible dusts in the workplace, and would apply to manufacturing, processing, blending, conveying, repackaging, and handling of combustible particulate solids and their dusts. CDEFA would not apply to processes already covered by OSHA’s standard on grain facilities. This law would impact a broad spectrum of industries that manufacture, process, or otherwise handle materials that produce combustible dusts, requiring them to implement dust assessment, control, and employee safety training programs, among other obligations. Because the rules that would accompany this act have not been established, it is not yet clear how much this will cost the private sector. To the extent CDEFA does not overlap with preexisting rules and standards, it could be very costly to employers not in compliance with the final rule.
• Nurse and Patient Safety Protection Act of 2007 (H.R. 378). This act would have directed OSHA to issue new ergonomics regulations for the health care industry. This bill was in response to President Bush’s repeal of the highly controversial ergonomics regulations issued by OSHA during the Clinton Administration. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress was able to rescind the regulations, and OSHA is not permitted to issue new ones without Congressional approval. Since any new ergonomics regulations must go through the legislative process, business interests will have the opportunity to voice opposition to bills such as the Nurse and Patent Safety Protection Act, which will likely emerge during the Obama Administration.

These and other safety–related measures will be closely followed