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“INTRODUCTION OF POSTAL SERVICE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROMOTION ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E651-E652 on April 23, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF POSTAL SERVICE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROMOTION ACT
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HON. JAMES C. GREENWOOD
of pennsylvania
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 23, 1998
Mr. GREENWOOD. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to treat the U.S. Postal Service the same as any private employer under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
The fact that the Postal Service has not been covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the same way as private employers--including private employers with whom the Postal Service directly competes for business--is apparently due to the fact that both the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Postal Reorganization Act were being considered at the same time by Congress, in 1970. In any event, the Postal Service, although it is now ``an independent establishment of the Executive Branch of the Government of the United States'' is considered a ``federal agency'' for purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
As a ``federal agency,'' under Section 19 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and Executive Order 12196, the Postal Service is supposed to comply with OSHA standards, but it is not subject to OSHA enforcement as are private employers. Instead, the Department of Labor is authorized under Executive Order 12196 to conduct inspections of agency workplaces
``when the Secretary [of Labor] determines necessary if an agency does not have occupational safety and health committees; or in response to reports of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions, upon request of occupational safety and health committees . . .; or, in the case of a report of an imminent danger, when such a committee has not responded to an employee who has alleged to it that the agency has not adequately responded to a report.'' In such cases, the Department of Labor is required to follow up its inspection with a report to the head of the agency. In addition, under the executive order, the Secretary of Labor submits an annual report to the President on each federal agency's workplace safety and health performance. However, neither the Department of Labor nor the state agencies which enforce OSHA requirements in 23 states have the legal authority to require the Postal Service to comply with OSHA requirements, or to issue citations or penalties against the Postal Service for violations of OSHA requirements.
As my colleagues may know, I have been working for some time on much needed reforms of the workers compensation system for federal employees, known as the Federal Employees Compensation Act, or FECA, which is also the workers compensation program which covers Postal Service employees. The present program is expensive, has not been updated for years, continues to be afflicted by cases of fraud and abuse, and in many cases discourages employees' return to work. Measured by either total compensation costs or numer of claims, Postal Service employees comprise one of the largest components of FECA.
During a hearing held on the FECA program on March 24 by the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, a representative of the American Postal Workers Union claimed that ``[in] our experience, the federal government's workplace safety and health program remains inadequate and deficient, and this is where the greatest savings could and should be achieved in the costs associated with workers injured on the job in the line of duty.''
While I certainly do not share the view that the only problem with the FECA program is the lack of effort by the Postal Service or federal agencies generally to seriously address workplace hazards in order to prevent workplace injuries, it does seem to me reasonable and appropriate to provide assurance that in addressing FECA we are not ignoring the issue of workplace safety. Nor does it seem unreasonable to me that the Postal Service, which increasing competes directly with private companies, should do so ``on a level playing field'' with regard to OSHA regulation and enforcement.
So for both of these reasons I am introducing legislation to treat the Postal Service the same as private employers for purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Under the bill, the Postal Service would be subject to inspection, citation, and penalty by OSHA and approved state OSHA programs. I invite my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in order to pass this legislation during this Congress.
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