crossposted at
unbossed
Longtime Unbossed readers know that we have blood on our buildings and blood on our streets from worker injuries.
So, should corporations and their management be allowed to get away with murder . . . literally?
That is a question whose answer, in effect, has long been:
Yes. If a worker is killed at work or because of work, the sole remedy is workers comp for the survivors. There may be OSHA fines for those responsible for the working conditions that led to the death, and in an aggravated case where far more than negligence is shown, there can be up to 6 months jail time.
That's the price for not putting in the money and effort to make jobs safe.
But it doesn't have to be this way, and maybe will not be this way in Indiana.
Indiana State
Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland, wants to change all this, starting with his home state of Indiana. He has introduced the
Corporate Manslaughter Act.
Stevenson's legislation calls for criminal charges to be filed against employers or their agents in certain cases of negligence.
Penalties would range from a Class A misdemeanor - punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine up to $5,000 - for negligence leading to bodily injury, to a Class C felony - punishable by up to 8 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 - if an employee dies as a result of a knowing or intentional violation of administrative rules.
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Here is the press release for the bill's introduction:
GARY - State Rep. Dan Stevenson (D-Highland) said today he will seek passage of legislation in the 2006 session of the Indiana General Assembly that will penalize companies that continually ignore safety violations in the workplace.
Flanked by regional labor leaders and officials and workers with the United Steelworkers of America District 7, Stevenson said his bill, which he dubbed the Corporate Manslaughter Act, would toughen penalties against employers who fail to correct unsafe working conditions that help cause deaths and serious bodily injuries.
Indiana is one of 27 states that saw an increase in workplace fatalities from 2003 to 2004. (Indiana workplace fatalities increased from 132 in 2003 to 153 in 2004.)
"The corporate culture has developed a mind set that it is better to address potential safety violations by paying a small fine instead of actively working to correct the problems," Stevenson said. "Through this bill, I want to make employers understand that there are consequences when they show they don't care about keeping their workers safe."
Stevenson's legislation outlines instances when criminal charges can be entered against employers or their agents. Penalties will range from a Class A misdemeanor (up to a year in prison and a fine up to $5,000) for negligence leading to bodily injury to a Class C felony (up to eight years in prison and a maximum fine $10,000) if an employee dies as a result of a knowing or intentional violation of administrative rules.
"This legislation is aimed at situations where a safety violation has been in existence for a lengthy period of time, employees or their union have tried to get the company to correct the matter, and the company chooses to do nothing about it," Stevenson said. "The potential for disaster is there, everyone knows about it, yet the employer ignores it. Since this attitude seems to be keyed on their belief that the bottom line is more important than the safety of their workers, the only way to get their attention is to make sure they receive prison time and financial penalties for their negligence."
USWA Local 1010 President Tom Hargrove, who noted that the legislation originated from meetings conducted by local union presidents, said, "At my plant, Mittal Steel Indiana Harbor East, we have a joint safety program, and we work together diligently to prevent accidents. In a perfect world, this is how it should work, but workers should not have to depend on the good will of the bosses for their safety.
"When the money gets short, safety gets short-changed and workers suffer," he added. "Management is legally responsible for providing a safe workplace. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 sends management to jail for willfully stealing money by cooking the books. We need to hold that same management accountable for a willful violation that results in serious injury or death. We feel this level of accountability can be achieved only with the threat of sending management to jail for willful violations."
USWA District 7 Director Jim Robinson said, "We have fought to save good industrial jobs in America, and we will fight to ensure that the workers who do these jobs enjoy their right to a safe and healthy workplace. Passage of the Corporate Manslaughter Act is an important part of that effort."
Bill Tracking is here.
A January 3 press release by Stevenson states:
STEVENSON: W. VA. MINE DISASTER SHOWS NEED FOR CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER ACT
INDIANAPOLIS - An explosion Monday that trapped 13 people at a West Virginia mine with a long record of safety violations demonstrates the need for worker protections of the type being advocated for passage in the Indiana General Assembly by State Rep. Dan Stevenson (D-Highland).
"From reading news accounts of the disaster taking place at the Sago Mine near Charleston, W. Va., I have noted that this facility has a long and ugly history of being unsafe," Stevenson said. "In 2005 alone, more than 200 safety violations were reported, many of which were considered significant and substantial by federal inspectors. The Sago Mine also has an injury rate nearly three times the national average."
To prevent such prolonged histories of safety violations in Indiana, Stevenson has filed what he has called the Corporate Manslaughter Act, which would toughen penalties against employers who fail to correct unsafe working conditions that help cause deaths and serious bodily injuries.
"My prayers are with the miners who are trapped underground, as well as their families," Stevenson said. "At the same time, I cannot help but be outraged that the state of West Virginia has allowed this mine to operate in such an unsafe manner. Despite a sorry record of safety violations and injuries on the job, the people who own and operate this mine are issuing public statements that they believe the facility is safe.
"This kind of behavior is all too typical of the mentality demonstrated by the people who run their businesses based on a concern for the bottom line, rather than the health and safety of their workers," he continued. "It is that kind of mind set that we hope to stop through the Corporate Manslaughter Act."
Stevenson's legislation would allow criminal charges to be filed against employers or their agents who have done nothing to address safety violations that have been in existence in a workplace, despite repeated warnings from employees or unions. Penalties would range from a Class A misdemeanor for negligence leading to bodily injury to a Class C felony if an employee dies as a result of a knowing or intentional violation of administrative rules.
"We know that such legislation is needed in Indiana, where workplace fatalities increased in 2004," Stevenson said. "The emergency in West Virginia shows that other versions of the Corporate Manslaughter Act are needed throughout the United States. I hope lawmakers in those areas will consider their own proposals to protect the health and safety of workers."
For more information in the news and blogosphere
See Confined Space for its take on the bill
More news reports on this bill here and here.