November 12, 2003—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offices that service the five boroughs of New York City have formed an alliance with the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) to foster a culture of workplace fatality prevention while sharing best practices and technical knowledge.
The alliance will serve to ensure that no workplace fatality goes unreported by employers, especially in circumstances where the victim may have entered a secondary facility, such as a hospital, prior to his or her death. The alliance addresses construction fatalities, immigrant workers, and youth workers—all priorities under OSHA’s strategic management plan.
New York City’s large immigrant population every year suffers a disproportionate number of occupational fatalities, a number of which go unreported despite the legal requirement for employers to report workplace deaths to OSHA. Meanwhile, the Medical Examiner is involved in investigating and ruling on the cause of all unattended deaths.
OSHA and the New York OCME will use their resources to promote workplace safety and health issues, especially those related to major hazards in the construction industry. The agencies will also share information with each other during investigative procedures.
