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Washington, DC -- Today Congressman David Wu voted against a series of bills whose purpose is to weaken the protections that working Americans enjoy under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Each of these four bills individually attempts to weaken the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) ability to effectively protect American workers.
"For over 30 years OSHA has worked to help create a safe work place. It has been able to do this by putting in place a system that is fair and addresses grievances," said Congressman David Wu. "Today's legislation is an attempt to turn back the clock and shows the Bush Administration's willingness to weaken workers' protections."
An example of this type of approach is the Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2004 (H.R. 2730). This bill gives the courts the ability to give deference to the Occupational Safety and Review Commission regarding the interpretation of OSHA standards. This would undermine the Department of Labor's enforcement functions by encouraging challenges to the Secretary's rules and interpretations.
The four bills are the Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court 2004 (H.R. 2728), Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2004 (H.R. 2729), Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2004 (H.R. 2730), and Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act of 2004 (H.R. 2731).
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