Oral

Employers in all sectors of the economy use workplace injury rates to evaluate and reflect safety in their workplaces, suggesting that the lower the injury rate, the safer the workplace. Over the past decade, OSHA has increased reliance on employer-kept injury and illness statistics to identify good and bad actors, determine which workplaces need government inspection, and decide where to focus resources. At the same time, a growing number of academic studies, newspaper articles and worker and union testimony have demonstrated significant problems with injury and illness underreporting, calling into question the very statistics being used to evaluate workplace health and safety. In 2008, a report released and a hearing convened by Congressman George Miller, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, highlighted how underreporting has contributed to a serious underestimate of the full nature and extent of work-related injury and illness in today's workplaces. This session will explain employer incentives to under-report workplace injuries and illnesses; discuss the “blame culture” and employer practices that discourage workers from reporting injuries and illnesses; describe negative consequences from injury/illness underreporting; analyze results of surveys conducted by several unions in 2009 to characterize injury/illness underreporting and its consequences; and evaluate strategies to address the underreporting of workplace injuries and illnesses.

Session Objectives: # Explain employer incentives to under-report workplace injuries and illnesses # Discuss the “blame culture” and employer practices that discourage workers from reporting injuries and illnesses # Describe negative consequences from injury/illness underreporting

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)