Worker injuries being suppressed, report finds

By Lisa Mascaro

Friday, June 20, 2008 | 2 a.m.

A report released Thursday by the House Labor Committee shows nearly 70 percent of work-related illnesses and injuries may be going unreported, calling into question federal regulators’ claims that workplace problems are declining.

The committee will be turning its attention next to Las Vegas, with a hearing Tuesday to investigate construction deaths in New York and on the Las Vegas Strip, where 12 workers have died in the past 19 months during a building boom.

The hearing will investigate whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is adequately enforcing construction safety rules.

The committee chairman, Democratic Rep. George Miller of California, said Thursday in releasing the report that despite OSHA’s repeated claims that workplace injuries are declining, the numbers from outside analyses tell a different story.

“Although there is widespread agreement that workplace injuries and illnesses are woefully underreported, OSHA refuses to recognize that a problem exists,” Miller told the Education and Labor Committee in prepared remarks.

The report cited various reasons why workplace problems go unreported, but one is key: Employers, who are responsible for reporting to federal authorities, have incentives to keep their lost work days at a minimum.

“Businesses with fewer injuries and illnesses are less likely to be inspected by OSHA,” the report said. “They have lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums; and they have a better chance of winning government contracts and bonuses.”

In the commercial construction industry, in particular, one expert said later Thursday, better safety records help as companies competitively bid for lucrative contracts.

The report drew on various academic studies that compared reports filed with federal regulators with other sources, including local police department records, hospital emergency room logs and workers’ compensation records.

Miller said hidden injuries are not new. In the steel industry, workers hide their injuries to avoid being disciplined in what is called “bloody pocket syndrome,” the report said.

The hearing highlighted a recent investigation by The Charlotte Observer about conditions in the North Carolina poultry industry, where workers allegedly suffered injuries and were intimidated to keep quiet while a company claimed perfect safety records.

The committee’s ranking Republican, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, issued an opening statement that questioned reliance on news stories to get to the facts.

McKeon said the newspaper’s report was “troubling and certainly warrants further investigation.” But, he said, “I think we all must hesitate to draw broad-based conclusions from examples that have not been fully investigated.”

McKeon also said employers need to be given clear directions on reporting workplace problems. “We need to look more closely at the guidance offered to employers about what to record, what to report, and when to do so,” he said.

In Las Vegas, a Sun investigation of construction deaths on the Strip found that workers say the rush to build is creating an environment where safety suffers. There have been more deaths in the past 19 months as were reported during Las Vegas’ entire 1990s building boom.

The committee’s hearing on Las Vegas will be broadcast live on the Web on Tuesday at edlabor.house.gov/committee/hearings.shtml.