The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) has ramped up a new national campaign with a worthy goal: to save lives by preventing deadly falls on the job for those working in the construction industry. According to OSHA’s numbers, over 10,000 workers were injured in 2010 when they fell while working construction on the job.
Working construction is dangerous and people are hurt, sometimes seriously, and tragically, workers are killed from falls from ladders, scaffolds and roofs. OSHA’s goal
“…is to make sure that another family does not have to suffer the pain of losing a loved one because of preventable workplace injuries,” according to DOL Secretary Hilda Solis. “Falls are the most fatal out of all hazards in the construction industry, accounting for almost one in every three construction worker deaths. Our simple message is that safety pays, and falls cost.”
OSHA has announced that it will work with trade associations, labor unions, employers, universities, community and faith-based organizations, and consulates to provide employers and workers – especially vulnerable, low-literacy workers – with education and training on common-sense fall prevention equipment and strategies that save lives.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, federal law requires that construction bosses (companies, contractors, subcontractors, etc.) are legally responsible to all their construction workers for making sure that their work area is safe and healthy. It is the job of the construction worker’s employer to abide by federal law and regulations designed for construction safety.
For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
