Worker Safety and Health

Earlier today, Chairman Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus.

The Wall Street Journal reports, "House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller said his bill would ensure that workers wouldn't miss out on wages if they contract the illness. The employer would be required to pay for the sick leave, and there would be no cost to the taxpayer, Mr. Miller said.

The bill wouldn't oblige employers to pay for workers' time off. It would tell them that, if they intend to send employees who are ill home, they must then pay for them to have up to five days' leave.

Mr. Miller said his panel would hold a hearing on the legislation the week of Nov. 16. If the bill is successfully enacted by Congress, it would take effect 15 days after being signed into law, and expire in two years."

Explaining why this bill is needed, Contra Costa Times quotes Chairman Miller, "Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihood, and their co-workers’ or customer’s health. This will not only protect employees, but it will save employers money by ensuring that sick employees don’t spread infection to co-workers and customers, and will relieve the financial burden on our health system swamped by those suffering from H1N1.”

And the next steps according to Reuters are, "Miller said the committee would hold a hearing the week of November 16 and he would press to have a full vote as soon as possible.

Miller said at least 50 million American workers are not paid for time taken off sick, 'many in lower-wage jobs that have direct contact with the public such as the food-service and hospitality industry, schools and health care fields.'"

For more background on who does and doesn't get sick leave, see this post on the New York Times' Economix blog.

WASHNGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation the week of November 16.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, today released a statement on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s announcement of a record $87 million proposed fine against BP Products North America for its failure to correct serious health and safety standards at the company’s Texas City, Texas refinery – the location of a 2005 explosion that killed 15 and injured 180 and has killed four more since.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Stronger federal oversight of state-run health and safety programs is needed to ensure that states provide workers with basic on-the-job protections, witnesses told the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee. Serious questions were raised after a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration review of Nevada OSHA found significant gaps in the agency’s protections.

The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Thursday, October 29 to examine the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s critical review of Nevada’s workplace health and safety program. OSHA reviewed Nevada’s health and safety program between January 2008 and June 2009 and found a number of deficiencies with the plan. A spate of accidents drew national attention during the city’s building boom that killed 12 construction workers on the Las Vegas strip over an 18-month period between 2006 and 2008.

To read the OSHA review of the Nevada health and safety program, click here.

To learn more, visit this blog post.

The Las Vegas Sun lays out what is at stake in tomorrow's hearing about OSHA findings and recommendations for Nevada’s Workplace Health and Safety Enforcement Program. They say:

Why did the state agency charged with keeping workers safe on the job fail so badly — and are those failures symptomatic of a national problem?...At stake could be Nevada’s control over the workplace-safety program. Nevada is one of 22 states operating such a program, which is supposed to protect private and public employees. The federal government shoulders the responsibility in all other states.

The Education and Labor Committee first examined construction safety problems in a 2008 hearing, including a string of deaths during the recent building boom on the Las Vegas strip. The hearing found that even when Nevada issued fines to employers for operating an unsafe workplace, those sanctions were often later reduced or even eliminated.

For more information on the 2008 hearing, click here.

To read the OSHA review of the Nevada health and safety program, click here. For a shorter explanation of the report's findings, see our blog post.

Visit our hearing page for a complete list of witnesses.

In light of a new government report highlighting dangerous gaps in health and safety protections for workers in Nevada, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced that the committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, October 29 to examine the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s critical review of Nevada’s workplace health and safety program. 

“This report confirms that there are serious problems with Nevada OSHA that need to be addressed immediately,” said Miller. “Workers in Nevada deserve to know that basic health and safety protections are enforced by the agency tasked to protect them.”

Under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, a state can operate their own workplace health and safety program as long as they meet basic federal minimum standards. Twenty-two states and territories operate such programs and are partially funded by the federal government.

OSHA reviewed Nevada’s state program between January 1, 2008 and June 1, 2009. This is OSHA’s most significant review of a state program since 1991when OSHA initiated steps to take over the North Carolina’s health and safety program after a poultry plant fire killed 25 people. The review found among other things that over the period:

• No ‘willful’ or ‘repeat’ citations were made and were even discouraged. ‘Willful’ violations carry significantly higher penalties;
• In nearly half of all fatality cases, family members of the fallen workers were not contacted or given the opportunity to speak with investigators;
• Clear cases of repeat violations were not cited. For example, OSHA issued ‘serious’ violations in the Orleans Casino case rather than ‘willful’ or ‘repeat’ violations even though the owner and operator of this hotel had same violations other facilities in Nevada;
• Even when Nevada OSHA cited a workplace for a health and safety violation, they could not demonstrate that those workplaces were abated correctly; and
• Nevada OSHA investigators were not properly trained on construction hazards. 

The Education and Labor Committee first examined construction safety problems in a 2008 hearing, including a string of deaths during the recent building boom on the Las Vegas strip. The hearing found that even when Nevada issued fines to employers for operating an unsafe workplace, those sanctions were often later reduced or even eliminated.

For more information on the 2008 hearing, click here.

To read the OSHA review of the Nevada health and safety program, click here.

Visit our hearing page for a complete list of witnesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, applauded yesterday’s unanimous U.S. Senate confirmation of Joe Main as the next Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.

In the wake of the report by OSHA highlighting dangerous gaps in health and safety protections for workers in Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun has the background on this serious oversight.

The Las Vegas Sun said:

The probe examined Nevada OSHA’s oversight of 25 workplace fatalities, some of which occurred during the Las Vegas Strip construction boom and found an agency with staff ill-equipped to investigate accidents and administrators unwilling to impose hefty penalties on companies.

The report is the most significant review of a state program conducted by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in nearly two decades. Labor officials said the findings have prompted a nationwide review of state-administered workplace-safety plans and increased federal oversight.

The Labor Department said its investigation was triggered in part by the Sun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series that examined the Strip construction deaths and exposed the failures of government, management and labor unions to protect workers.

The report documents troubles large and small within Nevada OSHA’s offices in Reno and Henderson — from state lawyers and managers who discouraged harsh citations for company violations to staff communiqués via Post-it notes. In half the fatality cases, families of the workers were not told of investigations, as required.

This report will be the center of a hearing on Thursday, October 29th by the House Education and Labor Committee to examine the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s critical review of Nevada’s workplace health and safety program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of a new government report released today highlighting dangerous gaps in health and safety protections for workers in Nevada, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today announced that the committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, October 29 to examine the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s critical review of Nevada’s workplace health and safety program. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, today applauded the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s issuance of an advance notice of rulemaking to prevent combustible dust explosions like the one that occurred at the Imperial Sugar refinery in February 2008 that killed 14 workers and injured dozens.

In today's New York Times' editorial, they applaud the nomination of Dr. David Michaels to lead the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Last week, Chairs Miller and Woolsey also praised the nomination.

Dr. David Michaels, an epidemiologist, is a research professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. He has conducted numerous studies of the health effects of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals, including asbestos, metals and solvents, and has written extensively on science and regulatory policy.

The New York Times said:
 

President Obama has chosen wisely in picking a respected scientist and safety advocate to head the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. David Michaels, a research professor and occupational health expert at the George Washington University School of Public Health, seems just the right man to steer the agency back toward an emphasis on protecting workers after eight years of lax oversight and favoritism to industry under the Bush administration.

and

The nomination of Dr. Michaels is apt to provoke opposition from some business interests. They should hold their fire. His emphasis on cultural change and involvement of workers in improving safety could help ease the polarization between business and labor. And his emphasis on sound science could give everyone greater confidence that OSHA will make the right decisions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, today praised President Barack Obama’s announcement of his intention to nominate Dr. David Michaels as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

“President Obama is to be commended for his intent to nominate Dr. David Michaels to lead the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration,” said Miller. “Dr. Michaels' expertise and leadership is needed as OSHA continues to restore vital health and safety protections for America’s workers. I look forward to working with Dr. Michaels and Secretary Solis to ensure the agency has the tools it needs to accomplish this mission.”
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today praised President Barack Obama’s announcement that he intends to nominate Joe Main as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.

“I applaud President Obama’s intent to nominate Joe Main to lead the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Throughout his career, Joe has been a tireless advocate for the health and safety of our nation’s miners. His experience and enthusiasm for MSHA’s mission will bring a much-needed jumpstart to an agency that suffered from years of neglect. With Joe at the helm, I am confident that MSHA will refocus on its core mission – ensuring that miners have the health and safety protections they need to return home to their loved ones safely at the end of each shift.”
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An Occupational Safety and Health Administration program expanded by the Bush administration lacked proper oversight, did not improve worker safety, and diverted scarce resources from other enforcement duties, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a report released today by two Congressional committees.

Businesses that participate in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program are able to avoid routine inspections, as long as they demonstrate that they have exemplary safety and health program, have no ongoing health and safety enforcement actions, and have an injury and illness rate below the average rates for the industry. The program’s goal is to promote cooperation between workers and management on developing innovative workplace health and safety programs. Prodded by the Bush administration, the VPP more than doubled to 2,174 worksites over the last five years and now covers more than 885,000 out of the 112 million workers covered by Occupational Safety and Health Act.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the House Committee on Education and Labor today applauded the Department of Labor’s announcement that they intend to withdraw a Bush era proposal that would have dramatically weakened future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment.

"The Bush administration’s proposal would have dramatically slowed important initiatives to ensure the health and safety of American workers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Workplace health and safety regulations must be based on science that responds to real hazards and not slowed by special interest roadblocks set by political appointees.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A special worker health and safety program that targets employers that repeatedly put their workers in harms way is not working and needs to be refocused, witnesses told the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee today.

“After six years of operation, it’s clear that the Enhanced Enforcement Program original design is flawed, and that OSHA under the Bush administration did not implement the program as intended,” said U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee. “We need to know why the program is not working and what we can do to fix it.  The EEP has failed hundreds of workers like Jesus Rojas, and that is just not acceptable.”


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The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Thursday, April 30 on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Enhanced Enforcement Program.

The Enhanced Enforcement Program identifies high risk employers by their past behavior and targets them for additional scrutiny. However, the U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General’s Office issued a report on April 1 that found the Bush administration did not properly enforce worker health and safety laws used to oversee employers with history of safety violations. It shows that over the last five years, since the program was established, the EEP has failed to effectively deter employers from putting workers’ lives at risk.

Below is information for workers, families, schools and employers about how to protect our communities by reducing the spread of the H1N1 flu virus.

What is the H1N1 Flu?

General information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the H1N1 flu (commonly mis-referred to as "swine flu"), including what the H1N1 flu is, how it spreads and how to take care of people sick with it »

School Preparedness

Checklists and other tools to help schools, child care providers, colleges and universities to delay or reduce the spread of the flu virus »

Workplace Preparedness

Checklists and other guidance for businesses and employers to protect employees' health and safety while limiting negative impacts to the economy and society »

More information from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration »

Family Preparedness

Advice and strategies to delay or reduce the spread of the flu virus »

Your Rights in the Workplace

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires public agencies, all public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees to provide an eligible employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for reasons, including caring for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition, and taking medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

More about FMLA »

(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Dina Titus, Education and Labor Committee Member.)

Today we celebrate Workers Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have been killed or injured on the job.  It is also the 39th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, legislation that has improved the safety of workers on the job.  It is with that in mind that the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to bring to light the dangers that Americans still face every day that they go to work and to reevaluate the effectiveness of the OSH Act in ensuring worker safety and employer compliance.

The Committee heard some truly staggering statistics about both the number of fatalities and injuries that occur in the workplace and about the weak penalties that employers receive. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Current penalties against employers that endanger workers’ health and safety are too low to deter future violations, witnesses to the House Education and Labor Committee today.

“Penalties are the key enforcement mechanism under the law. They must be real. They must be meaningful,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee. “And, these penalties must not be just the cost of doing business.”
 

Created with flickrSLiDR.

The Charlotte Observer published an op-ed by Chairman Miller on the 20th anniversary of Workers Memorial Day about the importance of reinvigorating OSHA.

Chairman Miller said:

Nearly 40 years ago, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted to protect workers against these very abuses. The law has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and helped millions more avoid exposure to preventable illnesses and injuries.

But the law's protections have eroded in recent decades – especially over the past eight years. All too often, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's leadership failed to adequately protect workers from well-documented workplace threats – from exposure to a chemical that causes popcorn lung disease to combustible dust to dangers on construction sites....

This neglect has left OSHA significantly weakened and put workers in greater jeopardy.

What will it take to turn this around?

It begins with good leadership that's committed to restoring OSHA's mission. President Obama's Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis, is a passionate advocate for working families and she's determined to reverse the harmful damage wrought during the Bush years. But good leadership only goes so far – we also need to give her additional tools to effectively enforce the law.

Last week, I joined other Democrats in introducing the Protecting America's Workers Act, legislation that would modernize current law by updating its penalties, strengthening whistleblower protections and ensuring that bad employers are held accountable. It will allow OSHA to finally do its job – and it is a critical start toward improving the safety of our workplaces.

This week the Education and Labor Committee will hold hearings to examine how OSHA can toughen penalties and impose effective enforcement. Penalties haven't been updated since 1990 and aren't indexed for inflation. Unscrupulous CEOs often face nothing more than a drop in the bucket for egregious violations.

We encourage you to read the entire op-ed. If you want to learn more about worker safety and health, click here.

And be sure to check our two hearings this week: Are OSHA’s Penalties Adequate to Deter Health and Safety Violations? and Improving OSHA’s Enhanced Enforcement Program

The Workforce Protections Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Thursday, April 30 on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Enhanced Enforcement Program.

The Enhanced Enforcement Program identifies high risk employers by their past behavior and targets them for additional scrutiny. However, the U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General’s Office issued a report on April 1 that found the Bush administration did not properly enforce worker health and safety laws used to oversee employers with history of safety violations. It shows that over the last five years, since the program was established, the EEP has failed to effectively deter employers from putting workers’ lives at risk.

To read the Inspector General’s report, click here.

The Committee will hold a hearing on whether our nation’s health and safety laws ensure that employers who fail to protect their workers are adequately penalized and deterred from committing future violations.

Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 with the goal of assuring safe and healthful working conditions to all American workers. Nearly 40 years later, while workplace health and safety has improved, many workers remain at risk of death, injury or illness while on the job.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee, led by U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, introduced legislation today that would help the nation’s health and safety agencies to hold unscrupulous employers accountable for exposing their workers to preventable hazards.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis today named House Education and Labor Committee senior policy advisor Jordan Barab as deputy assistant secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Barab will also serve as acting assistant secretary for OSHA beginning Monday. Barab has worked for the committee for more than two years specializing in worker health and safety issues.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, today reintroduced legislation to prevent workplace explosions. This weekend is the anniversary of the Imperial Sugar refinery disaster in Port Wentworth, Ga., which killed 14 workers and injured dozens. And yesterday, six workers were injured when a coal dust collector at a power plant in suburban Milwaukee exploded while it was being cleaned. 

January 2 marks the third anniversary of the Sago mine tragedy, in which 12 miners died after being trapped by an explosion. Chairman Miller offers his condolences to the miners’ families and promises to work toward improved health and safety for all miners and workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor is failing to effectively enforce the nation’s child labor laws, witnesses told the Workforce Protection Subcommittee today.  According to a study by the National Consumers League, the number of child labor investigations decreased dramatically during the Bush administration: The number of child labor investigations conducted by the Labor Department in 2006 was at the lowest in at least a decade.  Meanwhile, research by the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, a coalition of migrant and seasonal agricultural nonprofit and public agencies, indicates that approximately 400,000 children under the age of 18 work in the fields to help support their families. While there are numerous restrictions on what dangerous job functions underage workers may perform, there are few protections if those children happen to work in agriculture.  Agricultural child labor rules have remained largely unchanged since signed into law in 1938. At that time, a quarter of all American lived on farms and the majority of the agricultural work was performed on the family farm. Unlike counterparts in other industries, minors working in agriculture are still permitted to log in more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay.

A last-minute Department of Labor proposal could undermine future health and safety protections for American workers, witnesses told the Workforce Protections Subcommittee today.  The Washington Post recently reported that the proposal was developed by political appointees in secret with little consultation with career agency health and safety experts. The proposal only gives 30 days for comment and provides for no public hearings. Critics say that the Department of Labor proposal would add additional layers of red tape to an already slow regulatory process, even for those initiatives being considered. The Bush administration has only issued one health-related standard over the past eight years, which it was forced to complete under a court-ordered deadline.

This hearing examined the Department of Labor’s last-minute proposal that would dramatically weaken future workplace health standards and further slow their enactment. The department allowed only 30 days for comment on the proposal and would not hold public hearings.

On Wednesday, September 17, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee will hold a hearing examining the Department of Labor's last-minute proposal that would dramatically weaken future workplace health standards and further slow their enactment. The department has allowed only 30 days for comment on the proposal and will not hold public hearings.

"Secret Rule: Impact of the Department of Labor’s Worker Health Risk Assessment Proposal"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 10:00 a.m. EDT
 

One year ago today, six coal miners were trapped after a series of catastrophic – yet preventable – events resulted in the collapse of the Crandall Canyon Mine. Our nation became transfixed on the heroic attempts to save the miners and prayed that everyone would return to their families unharmed. On this sad anniversary, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, and communities who lost loved ones in the mine and the rescue attempt.

Chairman George Miller and other House Democrats introduced legislation last night to prevent the Department of Labor from finalizing a last minute rule that could dramatically weaken future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment.  The “Prohibiting the Department of Labor’s Secret Rule Act” (H.R. 6660) will forbid the Department of Labor from issuing, administering or enforcing any rule, regulation, or requirement derived from the proposal submitted to the Office of Management and Budget on July 7.  Chairman Miller and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy first requested information regarding the draft rule on July 10, when it was revealed that the department was working on a last-minute change to the regulatory process that may significantly inhibit the implementation of critical health and safety regulations.  On July 23, Miller and Kennedy requested that the Department withdraw the rule.

“Congress will not stand for any backdoor effort by the political appointees to further cripple our nation’s ability to respond to vital health and safety concerns. This entire effort is the product of a flawed, politicized process that has failed to properly consider the views of experts or the consequences for workplace health.” -- Chairman George Miller

 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued an $8.77 million citation to Imperial Sugar for the fatal February explosion that killed 13 workers and seriously injured dozens of others at the company’s sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia.

This unfortunate tragedy didn’t have to happen. The Chemical Safety Board urged OSHA in 2006 to adopt rules that could prevent more deaths and injuries caused by combustible dust explosions. OSHA ignored those recommendations. The agency tasked by Congress to protect the health and safety of American workers has failed to aggressively address this deadly problem.

Today, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) fined the operator of Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine $1.85 million for the disaster that was the site of the worst coal mining tragedy of 2007. Pillars of coal supporting a roof burst, sending coal flying and creating enough force to register a 3.9 on the Richter scale. Rubble blocked every exit, entombing six miners somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 feet underground. Three courageous rescuers who attempted to reach them also died in the rescue effort.  Crandall Canyon Mine is operated by Genwal Resources Inc., whose parent company is Murray Energy Corp.

This morning, the Washington Post exposed the Bush administration’s latest ploy that could radically change the way health and safety regulations are issued. This secret regulation is a clear attempt by the Bush administration and the business community to fundamentally weaken the scientific process for enacting new regulations that protect American workers. 

Today, Senator Kennedy and I demanded that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao withdraw this rule immediately and turn over all communications with outside special interests and other documents relating to proposed rule. You can read the letter here.

The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s lack of adequate enforcement and oversight of workplace safety and health conditions within large, multiple-facility corporations.

Witnesses explored events at the Cintas Corporation, the largest uniform supplier in North America. In 2007, a worker died at the company’s Tulsa facility despite previous evidence, known to both OSHA and Cintas, of similar hazards at other Cintas facilities and industrial laundries. The death resulted in the largest service sector fine in OSHA’s history and was followed by additional citations of similar problems at other Cintas facilities.

The Committee held a hearing on legislation to help prevent worksite explosions like the one at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, in early February 2008 that killed 12 workers and critically injured 11 others.

The Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act (H.R. 5522) would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules regulating combustible industrial dusts, like sugar dust, that can build up to hazardous levels and explode. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration already has the authority to issue such a rule without Congress passing new legislation, but the agency has failed to act despite the fact that the dangers of combustible dust have been well known for years.

U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and John Barrow (D-GA) introduced the legislation on March 4, 2008. To learn more about H.R. 5522, <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel030308.html">click here</a>.