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[July 2003]
US Brickmakers Support Bill Seeking Fairness in Workplace Safety Enforcement
The USA's Brick Industry Association (Reston, VA, USA) has voiced strong support for a bill introduced by Charles Norwood entitled 'OSHA Fairness'. The bill seeks to improve the ways in which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) executes its enforcement actions, including:
Empowering OSHA with the authority to extend time limits for an employer to respond to a citation.
Defining the term "willful" violation.
Bolstering the role played by the Review Commission in interpreting the law.
Enabling small employers to more readily recover attorneys' fees.
In a letter to Mr Norwood, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce protections, BIA President and CEO Dick Jennison applauded the bill's aims.
"The Brick Industry Association enthusiastically applauds Mr Norwood's insightful effort to enhance the degree to which OSHA can aid companies in protecting worker health and safety," said Dick Jennison. "Just as BIA member companies go to great lengths to protect their workers' safety and health, we are mindful of OSHA's need to establish a common-sense basis for compliance and enforcement actions. In this way, brick manufacturers can more efficiently plan for and, ultimately, devote more resources to employees' health and safety in our plants."
The Brick Industry Association is a non-profit trade association representing the North American manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of clay brick. BIA's manufacturers number 40 companies operating nearly 150 plants that produce over 85% of the bricks shipped in the USA and Canada. BIA also represents 149 US brick distributors. It is estimated that more than 200,000 workers are employed in the manufacture, distribution and laying of brick in the region.
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