Posted On: February 19, 2008, 2:37 pm CST

Posted By: lastbat

Methinks they're trying to blame the enforcement schedule that OSHA maintains. When OSHA was first created they went around with a big stick and fined everyone they could. Over the last ten years or so OSHA has transformed into more of a consultant than a cop as their enforcement budget has failed to keep up with the growing demand. Any given state might have about 30 enforcement agents - tops - to inspect several hundred thousand employers. They do the best they can, but quite frankly there's just not enough enforcement agents to catch people. And their list is in a great part generated by the mandatory self-reporting employers peform. If employers lie in those reports OSHA never gets the red flag.

I like OSHA; I'm keen on both enforcement and consultation (I've been in enforcement inspections and utilized consultation services - both positive experiences). Until OSHA is funded like the EPA you won't see the results people expect.