November 19, 2024
This article was featured in the December 2024 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc.’s Construction Outlook.
The Utility Contractors’ Association of New England, Inc. (“UCANE”) and its members recognize the importance of worker health and safety. Among other things, UCANE has established a cooperative agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) to promote workplace safety, conducts Competent Person, Confined Space Entry, and Asbestos Pipe Removal safety seminars, and regularly keeps members informed of other training opportunities as well as safety stand downs. This list is by no means exhaustive; suffice it to say that UCANE and its members have long and proudly prioritized worker health and safety issues.
The reality is that construction work often entails significant human health and safety risks, including risks of fatal injury. In a bit of good news, OSHA recently issued a press release announcing that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has reportedly seen a “decline in worker death investigations.” That is, as of the beginning of November, 2024, “[f]ewer workers are dying from hazards where [OSHA] has focused its enforcement resources.” In other words, “[p]reliminary data” shows a “decrease in fatalities [that OSHA] is mandated to investigate,” including “significant reductions in fatal injuries from trench collapses and falls.” According to OSHA, these are “two of the leading causes of death among construction industry workers.”
OSHA reported that in Fiscal Year 2024, it investigated 826 worker deaths, representing “an 11 percent reduction from 928 in the previous year.” According to OSHA, when COVID-19-related deaths are excluded, “this is the lowest number of worker fatalities OSHA has been mandated to investigate since FY 2017.” According to OSHA, this number of worker death investigations has now decreased two years in a row.
When it comes to trench collapses, OSHA reported that “worker deaths in trench collapses declined nearly 70 percent since calendar year 2022.” As for falls – the “leading cause of serious work-related injuries and fatalities in the construction industry” – OSHA reported a decrease “of almost 20 percent.” OSHA also indicated that preliminary data suggests fewer fatalities in state jurisdictions as well.
While this report is encouraging, OSHA also noted that “we still lose more than 5,000 workers each year in largely preventable incidents.” As a result, while progress has been made, OSHA made clear that its “work is far from over.” According to OSHA, “stronger enforcement” has played a significant role in these reduced numbers.
Notably, OSHA also made clear that “[r]educing worker deaths means embracing an approach that makes worker health and safety a core value in every workplace.” This means that employers should adopt and implement effective compliance policies and programs to promote worker health and safety. There are numerous steps that contractors can take to further the interests of worker health and safety. Importantly, simply adopting a policy or program is not enough; contractors should embrace a culture of compliance, regularly train their employees, provide personal protective equipment, and enforce their policies and procedures when appropriate, to name a few. If and when a government agency arrives to inspect a given worksite, there are numerous best practices that contractors should follow. Of course, no set of facts is the same and what might be reasonable or appropriate in one situation may not suffice in another. Contractors should plan ahead and consult safety professionals and knowledgeable counsel to attempt to position themselves to address worker health and safety issues most effectively.
