Feds cite California workplace safety; Docs never say never in Montana
California has received its marching orders for improving safety in the workplace while Montana anticipates legislation that has the medical community in a tizzy, forcing what might become a last-ditch shot at compromise.
Critical Labor Department report
According to a Sept. 29 article in the Los Angeles Times, “The U.S. Labor Department issued a critical report on enforcement of workplace safety in California on Tuesday and ordered the state to fix myriad problems, including poor training of safety inspectors and delays in responding to complaints.”
Among the 40 issues the Feds singled out concerning a state agency, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health:
- inspectors are lax in reviewing companies’ history in actions throughout the state before making decisions whether to write them up “for repeat violations”
- the division’s appeals process is lacking.
Problems reported previously
The article also pats itself on the back: “The Labor Department’s review mirrors many of the findings of a Times investigation last fall that found the division’s appeals board repeatedly reduced or dismissed penalties levied by health and safety inspectors, even in situations in which workers died or were seriously injured.”
Previous reporting by the paper had revealed problems at Bimbo Bakeries USA, “where nine employees have lost parts of fingers or a limb in several California plants since 2003,” and with a construction site at the Golden Gate Bridge, where a worker “plummeted 50 feet to his death.”
Dismissals and reductions on technicalites
At the bakery, says the Times, “Many of the penalties levied by the Cal/OSHA were dismissed or reduced on technicalities by judges working for the appeals board, so the company wasn’t required to immediately fix hazards.”
At the construction site, an investigator found “that the contractor had not provided employees with scaffolds; it issued three ‘serious’ citations and a $26,000 fine, records show.”
Upon appeal from the contractor, an administrative law judge dismissed the case, ruling that “Cal/OSHA had failed to determine the company’s legal name”–the agency had listed the company in its complaint as the name on company business cards rather than going to the trouble of looking up the corporation’s legal name.
The paper says workplace safety advocates lauded the labor department, saying its response shows “that safety in California has been suffering for years.”
” “I don’t think people realize how broken our system is,’ said Gail Bateson, executive director of Worksafe, a nonprofit that advocates for workers.”
Director disputes feds
But the feds may have gotten a few things wrong, too. The state agency’s director, Len Welsh, disputed some of the findings.
” ‘They got a lot of stuff frankly wrong, and embarrassingly so,’ he said. For example, he said, one finding accuses the division of not opening investigations into seven fatal accidents quickly enough. But another finding says there were two such accidents. When his office questioned the findings, federal officials couldn’t explain the discrepancy, he said.”
The agency and board have month to respond with corrective plans. It’s part of a larger effort involving 25 U.S. states that operate such safety programs under federal jurisdiction–Hawaii’s is so bad, says the paper, that it “could be taken over by the federal government.”
Montana medicos mount counter-offensive
In Montana, doctors and hospitals are keen to intervene in a workers comp reorganization plan that only last month seemed like a done deal, all set for delivery to the state legislature when it reconvenes in January.
Trial lawyers had aligned with doctors’ group in opposition to the plan, seen as necessary by labor and business groups who work with one of the most expensive workers comp systems in the nation.
An Aug. 23 piece at InsuranceJournal.com led off this way: “A proposed workers’ compensation overhaul hammered out by business and labor is going to Montana’s full Legislature, despite stiff opposition from the equally powerful trial lawyers and doctors groups.
Professional fees and quagmires
“A legislative committee tasked with fixing an expensive system unanimously approved the plan, sending it to lawmakers who meet in January. Fixing a worker’s comp system that has become one of the most expensive in the nation has been a political quagmire.”
As you might imagine, at the bottom of the quagmire is concern for money.
“The proposal promises to lower costs for businesses and increase worker benefits by a little, “says IJ.com. “But it would do so at the expense of doctors who treat the workers and lawyers who represent them in disputes.”
Return of the doctors
Apparently, the doctors did not quit hammering at the supposedly hammer-out agreement.
In a follow-up, IJ.com posted this on Sept. 14: “But earlier this month, the Economic Affairs Committee agreed to reopen the issue due to stiff resistance from doctors and hospitals. The sponsor of the bill will meet with the all of the interest groups, and then will decide if enough consensus has been reached to merit changing the compromise proposal.”
Apparently, the doctors also dumped the trial lawyers.
“Rep. Chuck Hunter, D-Helena, said any revisions will only deal with complaints from the medical community that treat the injured workers, and not the lawyers who represent them in disputes.”
It’s taken about three years to get this far with the reorg plan. Business leaders say workers comp premiums are too high, sometimes exceeding 4 per cent of a worker’s wage, and need to come down, closer to the national average of below 2 per cent.
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Frequently enough, a workmen’s compensation case may be so complex as to demand legal representation. However, sometimes what seems like a cut-and-dried situation to an injured worker may result in a smaller award than envisioned–or even a denial. Have you, a friend or a loved one been injured on the job? Whether you’re merely seeking answers about your rights or believe a lawsuit may be necessary, be sure to seek counsel with attorneys trained and experienced in workers’ compensation. Here’s some resources:
