2012 should be the year of workplace safety in Wyoming. Two local groups are making that case after a report submitted to the governor last month documented the issue. Kim Floyd with the Wyoming State AFL-CIO says now that the numbers are in hand, it's time to "stop the carnage." His group and the Spence Association for Employee Rights want to see the state’s OSHA department beefed up with more inspectors, and to see the department levy higher penalties.
Floyd says arguments that it’s ‘too expensive’ to improve safety need to be dismissed. He points to the more than one billion dollars in the Workers Compensation fund as one source for money for improvements.
Other recommendations: mandatory safety inspections after any accident that requires hospitalization, and making injury records public. Floyd says state leadership is needed to help establish a culture of safety at workplaces.
State epidemiologist Dr. Timothy Ryan submitted a workplace safety report last month – with recommendations for more data collection and encouraging industry to reform itself. That report found that 622 people have died at work in Wyoming since 1992.
Floyd says arguments that it’s ‘too expensive’ to improve safety need to be dismissed. He points to the more than one billion dollars in the Workers Compensation fund as one source for money for improvements.
Other recommendations: mandatory safety inspections after any accident that requires hospitalization, and making injury records public. Floyd says state leadership is needed to help establish a culture of safety at workplaces.
State epidemiologist Dr. Timothy Ryan submitted a workplace safety report last month – with recommendations for more data collection and encouraging industry to reform itself. That report found that 622 people have died at work in Wyoming since 1992.
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