Advocates warn of cover-up as Trump moves to scrap worker-safety rule
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has moved to roll back an Obama-era safety rule requiring large employers to submit detailed logs of workplace injuries and illnesses to the federal government.
Many employers are already required under federal law to keep records of serious work-related injuries and illnesses. But the Obama administration created a new regulation requiring those with 250 or more employees to electronically submit detailed forms to the Department of Labor, which would then post some of the data publicly.
If the Trump administration prevails, these employers will no longer be required to provide the government with records describing individual injuries and illnesses in detail. (One example described by a required form: "When ladder slipped on wet floor, worker fell 20 feet." ) Instead, they will only have to submit records tallying the total number of workplace injuries, illness and days of work missed, according to proposed changes that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration unveiled on Friday.
The Department of Labor said the original rule threatened workers' privacy, as detailed data about individual incidents could be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. The proposed changes would "better protect personally identifiable information or data," while reducing the burden on employers, it said in a press release.
The proposal drew sharp criticism from public health advocates and former Labor Department officials who developed the rule.
"The existing rule is in place to protect workers," said Sean Sherman, an attorney at the Public Citizen Litigation Group, which is suing the Trump administration over the way it's handled the rule. "The idea that you can protect workers by rolling back a strong worker protection is absurd."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna895416?__twitter_impression=true
Safety schmafety. profits are all that matters - Donald J Drumpf.