Are You Safe?

A technical glitch prevents us from providing you the results of last week's poll. We asked about safety in the workplace, and how your company stays on top of changing regulations and recommended best practices. I'm still interested in hearing your safety stories, so please take a few minutes to email me and tell me how you approach safety at your company.

While I have no quantitative data to share with you this week, I can tell you that workplace safety is likely to be an issue we revisit this year. Safety is topping some legislators' prioritized agendas and there's rumblings in the national press that OSHA may tighten the belt a bit when it comes to cracking down on violations. Representative Lynn Woolsey of California has introduced legislation in the House aimed to "amend existing federal law to increase civil and criminal penalties for violations of workplace safety regulations," reports the Wall St. Journal. "It has been more than 30 years since the passage of the [Occupational Safety and Health Act], and it is badly in need of reform," Woolsey said in a prepared statement.

The legislation also seeks to further protect whistleblowers and stiffen penalties for companies that have track records of being repeat offenders in violating OSHA standards. (See related story).

There are many approaches to workplace safety, and I look forward to hearing about yours. I'd also like to share with you a story we published a few years back, contributed by a representative of Therma Tru, which focuses on the ways in which safety can help you increase productivity and efficency.

Contact Christina Lewellen, senior editor, at clewellen@glass.org.