May 29, 2012 · Volume 11, Issue 12 |
A twice monthly e-news product with information about workplace safety and health. |
Special Issue: New study finds that OSHA inspections reduce worker injuries while saving employers money
It's Official: OSHA Doesn't Kill Jobs. It Stops Jobs from Killing Workers
A landmark new study by business school economists at the University of California and Harvard University confirms that OSHA's inspections not only prevent workers from getting hurt on the job, they also save billions of dollars for employers through reduced workers' compensation costs. The study, entitled "Randomized Government Safety Inspections Reduce Worker Injuries with No Detectable Job Loss," appeared in the top scientific journal Science and reports that workplace injury claims dropped 9.4% at businesses in the four years following a randomized OSHA inspection, compared with employers who were not inspected. Those same employers also saved an average of 26% on workers' compensation costs, compared to similar companies who were not inspected. This means that the average employer saved $355,000 (in 2011 dollars) as a result of an OSHA inspection. Benefits were observed among both small and large employers. Nationwide, these savings to employers amount to an estimated six billion dollars. As researchers David Levine, Michael Toffel, and Matthew Johnson explain, "The benefits of a randomized safety inspection appear to be substantial. These results do not support the hypothesis that OSHA regulations and inspections on average have little value in improving health and safety." Furthermore, the researchers found "no evidence that these improvements came at the expense of employment, sales, credit ratings, or firm survival." Following an interview with study co-author and assistant professor Michael Toffel, Michael Blanding of the Harvard Business School newsletter described the enormity of the findings:
On May 21, Assistant Secretary for OSHA David Michaels responded to the new findings in an entry on the Department of Labor blog, writing:
Dr. Michaels' full response to the study is available on the Department of Labor blog. A summary of the findings also appears in a ScienceNow breaking report, and subscribers to the journal can access the study at www.sciencemag.org. For more information about what OSHA is doing to protect workers, visit www.osha.gov. See DOL's weekly electronic newsletter for more DOL news. For more frequent updates on OSHA activities follow DOL on Twitter and Facebook. QuickTakes is emailed free twice monthly to nearly 71,000 subscribers. You can receive it faster and easier by subscribing to the RSS feed that delivers almost instant information. Visit OSHA's RSS Feeds Web page to subscribe. QuickTakes is a product of OSHA's Office of Communications. If you have comments or suggestions that you think could improve the quality of QuickTakes, please submit them to OSHA.QuickTakes@dol.gov or contact the Office of Communications at 202-693-1999. [Note: This address is for input on QuickTakes only. Other questions concerning OSHA should be submitted through the agency's Electronic Mail Form.] For more information on occupational safety and health, visit OSHA's Web site. If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe, please visit: http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/subscribe.html. Register for your FREE QuickTakes newsletter today! To remove yourself from the OSHA QuickTakes Subscription list, click here. Thank you. |