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One of the reasons given for the underreported injuries and illnesses is that OSHA is less likely to investigate
businesses with fewer injury or illness reports; therefore, employers have a vested interest in not complying with
reporting requirements.
In the face of these issues, the congressional committee will be reviewing job conditions and work environments across
the nation, such as the following:
1. Twelve (12) construction workers who died in an 18 month period while working on Las Vegas strip construction
projects.
2. A number of recent construction related deaths in New York involving construction tower cranes.
3. Working conditions in the North Carolina poultry industry where allegations indicate that workers are being
"intimidated to keep quiet about injuries while a company claimed perfect safety records."
With as many as 69% of work-related illnesses and injuries being swept under the rug by employers, its no wonder that we
continue to see the same types of injuries over and over in the same work fields. Under-reporting of accidents, injuries
and illnesses hurts the employees and results in poor work-place conditions and higher number and more severe injuries
to those employees. While it may save money for employers in the shortrun, eventually the bill comes due in the form of
workers' compensation support for disabled or severely injured employees.
Like many "conditions" of our society, the failure of employers to report work-related injuries or illnesses will not
change without people willing to step forward and stop the cycle, be they employees, employers, or governmental agents
assigned to investigate police the safety of our population.
One of the reasons, our Workers' Compensation statutes were enacted to prevent employers from using unsafe business
practices to save money and then turning out injured employees with no support or medical assistance. These statutes
cannot provide the protections our legislation designed them to provide if the work-related injuries or illnesses are
never reported.
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According to a recent article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a congressional report found that two out of three (66%)
of work-related illnesses and injuries were not reported, despite claims of federal regulators that workplace injuries
and illnesses were declining.