Franken, Murray Urge OSHA To Hold BP Accountable For Workplace Safety

Press Release

Today, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called on Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, to increase OSHA oversight of BP facilities.

Currently, OSHA regulations require that employers record injuries and illnesses for direct employees, but not for contractors. By excluding contractors from reporting requirements, employers claim their workplaces are safer than they actually are. Additionally, employers are only required to immediately report a major fire or explosion if it results in a fatality or the hospitalization of at least three workers. OSHA could better monitor BP's compliance with workplace safety laws if it were alerted when a process safety incident occurred at a BP site, regardless of the number of workers killed or injured.

OSHA and BP are currently negotiating a settlement agreement to address $90 million in pending fines against BP. As part of the settlement agreement, Sens. Franken and Murray are requesting the following provisions to ensure BP's increased compliance with workplace safety law:

"We urge OSHA to include the following provisions in any settlement agreement negotiated with BP: 1) that BP reports any process safety incident that occurs at a site under its control, regardless of the number of workers or contractors injured or killed; and 2) that BP implement a site injury and illness log with contracting companies of any size to record workplace injuries and illness for all workers, including contractors, for all sites under its control," the Senators wrote.

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