Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney Blog

February's unemployment rate was 8.9%, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics This matches the lowest rate reported since the 8.9% unemployment rate in April 2009.

As the unemployment rate drops, our Chicago workers' compensation attorneys warn new hires to get proper safety training to avoid a Chicago work injury. Not all employers promote safety in the workplace so workers may need to remain proactive in ensuring their safety, as well as the safety of those around them.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Established in 1971, OSHA has helped reduce the number of workplace fatalities from 14,000 in 1970 to 4,340 in 2009. Since the passage of the OSH Act, serious workplace illnesses and injuries have dropped from 11 to 3.6 per 100 workers, over the last 40 years.

Here are some of OSHA's safety standards enacted over the years:

Falls in General Industry, Crane and Derrick, Protecting Healthcare Workers, Steel Erection, Fire Protection for Shipyard Employment, Payment for Safety Equipment, Blood borne Pathogens, Confined Spaces, Stronger Asbestos Standard, Fatal Falls in Construction, Laboratory Safety, Logging, fatal falls in construction, an estimated 130 million employees are working at Construction Scaffold Safety, Hearing Conservation, Farm workers, Protecting Meatpacking Workers, Testing Laboratories Regulations, Excavation & Trenching, Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, Protecting Grain Workers, Benzene, 14 Carcinogens, Diving, Lead, Protecting Textile Workers, Asbestos and Construction Safety.

Some members of Congress, as reported by the Workers' Comp Gazette, feel that over regulating can lead to job loss, and that OSHA needs to concentrate on promoting safety, not punishing employers.

In response to this concern Assistant Secretary of OSHA Dr. David Michaels commented, "Despite concerns about the effect of regulation on American business, there is clear evidence that OSHA's common sense regulations have made working conditions in this country today far safer than 40 years ago when the agency was created, while at the same time protecting American jobs. The truth is that OSHA standards don't kill jobs. They stop jobs from killing workers. OSHA standards don't just prevent worker injuries and illnesses. They also drive technological innovation, making industries more competitive."