Wyoming House Safety Bill 93 was recently defeated in a Senate vote. The Bill would have increased the maximum fines levied on employee deaths in violation of OSHA from $70,000 up to $250,000.Wyoming has the worst occupational death rate in the country which is recorded at 17.1 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Democratic Senator Sessions believes that the same industry who wants increased safety standards for workers is the same ones who killed the Bill. Sessions said, "It was industry, you bet it was," She charged that some in industry circles secretly lobbied against the bill.
Employers should not always rely on the government to protect their employees. Implementing additional safety measures such as on-site medical services and drug testing will help to increase safety standards on all job sites.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal was unhappy with the vote and said, "Unfortunately, the vote may confirm what some of the critics have been saying about the Senate in particular not being terribly concerned about worker safety. I'm disappointed, and I think this doesn't reflect well on the state."