Senator Bernie Sanders, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced the Protecting America’s Workers Act on April 28. The legislation aims to reform the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which has not been significantly updated since it was enacted in 1970.
The proposal comes as worker safety remains a concern across the United States. According to the AFL-CIO’s Death on the Job Report, approximately 140,000 workers die each year from workplace hazards. The number of inspectors at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is currently at its lowest in at least 45 years, with only five inspectors for every one million workers. This results in workplaces being inspected just once every 191 years.
Recent incidents have brought attention to these issues. Earlier this month, an Amazon warehouse worker in Oregon collapsed while working. Reports indicate that employees were told to stop emergency care efforts and return to work before emergency medical services arrived more than an hour later.
Sanders said: “In America today, it is unacceptable that large, profitable corporations like Amazon are routinely violating our nation’s health and safety laws. Even worse, when corporations are found liable for workplace fatalities and injuries, no one is held accountable for breaking the law and the fines are so meaningless that CEOs treat them as simply the cost of doing business. That must change. Corporations in America should not be allowed to endanger the health and safety of workers with impunity. When a dangerous worksite leads to a serious injury or death, corporate bosses who are responsible for harming workers must face substantial jail time and pay a significant fine for breaking the law.”
Baldwin said: “Wisconsin workers power our state’s economy: building, brewing, and growing the Made in Wisconsin products that put our state on the map. That’s why I'm committed to ensuring every Wisconsin worker is guaranteed the dignity and respect on the job that they’ve earned. This bill will strengthen and expand employees' rights, improve safety, and hold bad actors accountable when they break the law and hurt American workers.”
The Protecting America’s Workers Act would impose stricter penalties—including criminal charges—for violations resulting in injury or death; protect whistleblowers from retaliation; require investigations into all cases of workplace deaths or serious injuries; give families rights during investigations; mandate employers inform workers about their rights; extend protections to public employees at all government levels; among other provisions.
The bill has support from several senators as well as endorsements by organizations such as AFL-CIO; United Steelworkers; Communications Workers of America; United Mineworkers of America; American Federation of State County Municipal Employees; International Association of Machinists; Service Employees International Union; National Domestic Workers Alliance; Government Accountability Project; United Electrical Radio Machine Workers (UE); American Federation of Teachers (AFT); United Autoworkers (UAW); International Association Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation Workers (SMART); Economic Policy Institute (EPI) ;and United Food Commercial Workers International Union.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee works to legislate on public health matters—including workforce issues—with goals including protecting health standards according to its official website. In recent Congress sessions Bill Cassidy served as chair according to committee records. The committee influences federal regulations affecting both health care delivery systems nationwide as reported by its official site, provides oversight over relevant agencies according to its website, focusing also on policy development across sectors like education while overseeing agencies such as FDA or NIH according to committee information.
