Skip to main content

Wyoming Workplace Safety Bill 93 Dies in Legislation

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."
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

PHOTOS: MMC Through the Years

Mobile Medical Corporation (MMC) is excited to be celebrating our 30th Anniversary in 2020! MMC was founded on June 21, 1990. Check out some photos as we have grown over the years!            
Read more

Random Drug Testing Benefits Employers

Drug testing programs aim to prevent the hiring of drug-using applicants while deterring drug use among current employees. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 21.4 percent of employed adults used illicit drugs within the past month. Results from the 2014 Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) show that, in the general U.S. workforce, random urine drug test positivity rates are higher (5.7 percent) than they are for pre-employment (4.0 percent) or periodic (1.6 percent). Random or “spot” drug testing works as a drug use deterrent because these programs are conducted in an unannounced and unpredictable manner. Utilizing a random drug testing program may help employers by: Deterring current employees from engaging in drug use Preventing the need for substance abuse recovery programs Helping reduce health insurance costs Improving attendance and employee productivity Providing a safer workplace with reduced accidents However, set...
Read more

Synthetic Marijuana Making Local and National Headlines

Synthetic Marijuana, also known as "K-2" or "Spice" is a mixture of common herbs sprayed with synthetic chemicals that mirror the high of Marijuana. The synthetic product is sold as incense in head shops, tobacco stores and convenient stores. So far, twelve states have banned the sale of Synthetic Marijuana - (Kansas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, and Kentucky). The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that within the past year there have been over 500 cases of negative reactions to the still legal yet dangerous drug. On the national level the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently designated certain chemicals that are present within Synthetic Marijuana to the same category that heroin and LSD are part of and further emphasizes the need to be able to test blood and urine for Synthetic Marijuana use. On the local level- The Herald Online reported that Fort Mill,...
Read more