March 8, 2004—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has alerted approximately 13,000 employers throughout the country that their injury and illness rates are significantly higher than the national average, and encourages them to take steps to address safety and health hazards in the workplace. According to OSHA, the notification was simply a proactive step to encourage employers to take steps now to reduce the rates and improve safety and health for their employees, and to create value for their organization.
While addressing his concerns for the high rates, Assistant Secretary of Labor John Henshaw also offered the agency’s help in turning those rates around, suggesting, among other things, using the free safety and health consultation services provided by OSHA through the states, developing an internal process to identify and control hazards, or hiring outside safety and health consultants.
The 13,000 sites are listed alphabetically, by state, on OSHA’s Web site. This list does not designate those earmarked for any future inspection. Also, the sites listed are those in states covered by federal OSHA; the list does not include employers in the 21 states and one territory (Puerto Rico) that operate OSHA-approved state plans covering the private sector.
