Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Sun editorial:

Why report an injury?

Workers and employers find plenty of incentives to lie about workplace injuries

For years the Occupational Safety and Health Administration trumpeted reports that the number of workplace injuries — estimated to be around 1.3 million a year — was decreasing. Under the Bush administration, officials said that was a sign that their approach to workplace safety, which was hands-off, was working.

Those numbers, and the claims made about them, are dubious at best. As we have reported before, many experts believe the way OSHA counts workplace injuries and illnesses is faulty, failing to include millions of accidents. There’s another problem — many workers and employers never report injuries because it’s not worth it to them to do so.

In a report issued to Congress on Monday, the Government Accountability Office detailed many of the disincentives that keep workers and employees from reporting injuries and illnesses suffered on the job.

Workers are often frightened they’ll be fired, disciplined or lose wages from time off if they report injuries. They could also lose bonuses that many companies offer as rewards for good safety records.

Employers sometimes do not report injuries because they don’t want to see an increase in their workers’ compensation insurance costs. Some employers fear losing bids because government and private industry contracts require good workplace safety records. They also may want to avoid increased OSHA inspections and potential fines.

The GAO surveyed 1,187 health care providers and found 53 percent said employers had pressured them to minimize workers’ injuries, and 47 percent said employees had exerted similar pressure, apparently trying to prevent loss of income.

The result is that many people continued to work despite their injuries, which could cause long-term problems. The fact that workplace injuries are skewed means it is difficult to tell where there are problems with workplace safety.

Worker safety isn’t a game. It costs billions of dollars a year in medical expenses and lost productivity, not to mention the human cost. OSHA should do a better job assessing the extent of workplace injuries and then find ways to prevent them.

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