Playing It Safe Congress' proposed SAFE Act may shelter small businesses from OSHA.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The people at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) must feel much like the Union troops in Gettysburg did whilewatching successive waves of Confederate troops storm up CemeteryRidge. During the past few Congresses, Republicans have ledrelentless attacks on the workplace safety agency.
Now Rep. Jim Talent (R-MO), chairman of the House Committee onSmall Business, is leading what may be the political equivalent ofPickett's charge with his introduction of the SafetyAdvancement for Employees (SAFE) Act. Though SAFE has gained somecongressional support in recent months, the general feeling is thatPresident Clinton will not likely back the act.
The key provision of the bill (H.R. 2579) says businesses thathave their premises audited by an OSHA-certified private companywould be exempt for two years from penalties resulting from aformal OSHA inspection. The business owner would be required toabate any workplace hazards found during the audit, and if he orshe did not make a good-faith effort to remain in compliance withOSHA laws during the subsequent two-year period, the exemption frompenalties would be lost. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) has introduced theSenate version of the bill (S.1237), which, at press time, hadpassed the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.
As opposed to past efforts to clip OSHA's wings, this onehas some Democratic support, at least in the House. In fact, thenotion of enlisting private companies in federal agency reviews hasbecome an accepted congressional antidote to bureaucraticcongestion.
Current policy allows businesses to get a safety consultation(which does not necessarily involve a full audit) from an OSHA-paidstate employee. And companies that correct all problems identifiedin a full audit are exempt from OSHA inspections for one year.There are huge backlogs for that popular service, however.
Part of the problem, as many small-business groups see it, isthat OSHA's inspections are often the result of an on-siteaccident or a phone call from a complaining employee. Often, theinspectors find no serious violations; rather, they generallyuncover paperwork violations, such as companies that fail to keepup on their material safety data sheets. In 1994, for instance, thetop six most-cited violations involved paperwork deficiencies.
Many small-business groups endorse the SAFE Act; after all,insulation from OSHA penalties may seem like a good reason toobtain a third-party audit. That may not be the biggest incentive,however.
Bob Cornell, director of operations for Mon Valley Petroleum inMcKeesport, Pennsylvania, says the 25-employee company paid about$3,000 for an audit in 1994. The audit helped the company go fromhaving five injuries and 27 lost work days in 1994 to one injuryand no lost time in 1997. As a result, Mon Valley has saved $15,000per year in workers' compensation insurance costs since theaudit. Businesses may see this kind of change as an even betterreason to support the bill.
Stephen Barlas is a freelance business reporter who coversthe Washington beat for 15 magazines.
Contact Sources
Sen. Mike Enzi, (202) 224-3424
Mon Valley Petroleum, 5515 W. Smithfield St.,McKeesport, PA 15135, (800) 251-3366
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (202)219-8151, http://www.osha.gov
Rep. Jim Talent, (202) 225-5821, http://www.house.gov/smbiz
