OSHA Program Objective

During the past eight years, as a staff attorney at the Industrial Commission that is an agency within the North Carolina Department of Commerce, I have reviewed the settlement agreements for 40,000 individual claims for workers’ compensation arising from work place injuries and occupational diseases. I have approved over $2,000,000,000.00 in benefits for the individuals who suffered these injuries and diseases. In addition to these benefits, these cases were accompanied by over $5,000,000,000.00 in medical services. Since General Statutes Chapter 97-93 requires most employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance, the companies providing this insurance recover these expenses with premiums that add another $3,000,000,000.00 to the costs represented by these 40,000 claims. And there are many more claims than those that I have personally reviewed each year.

The State’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is overseen by the North Carolina Department of Labor. Its work is not responsive to the actual occurrence of work place injuries and illnesses. Indeed, at the present time, the OSHA program does not have access to the information filed with the Industrial Commission. I propose that this situation be changed. I propose that the OSHA program that contains an educational as well as an enforcement component be refocused to significantly reduce the incidence of work place injuries and illnesses.

Over 95% of North Carolina’s employees work for small employers who have fewer than 100 employees. These employers report that they have a difficult time affording paying their employees livable wages and providing benefits such as retirement, sick leave, holiday pay, vacation pay, and family leave. They also report that the cost of workers’ compensation insurance threatens their survival. By significantly reducing work place injuries and illnesses with the resulting reduction in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, North Carolina can support the vitality of doing business in this State as well as provide businesses the wherewithal to pay their employees livable wages and provide reasonable benefits. If the Department of Labor does its job right, the benefits will be a win-win development for both this State’s businesses and the State’s work force.