For the last decade, Wyoming has ranked either first or second for workplace deaths and two groups are asking legislators to change things. The AFL-CIO and the Spence Association for Employee Rights point to a recent report that said that Wyoming has had 622 work related deaths since 1992. Kim Floyd of the AFL-CIO says that is too many and it’s time for state leaders to change their approach and finally do something to improve the workplace culture.
Floyd-"It’s kind-of hard to do when you have a legislature that has had a long-standing commitment to destroying OSHA, and they wonder why we’re Number One in the nation on deaths on the job."
Floyd wants to see more OSHA inspectors and for those inspectors to be allowed to issue higher fines for workplace safety violations. Other recommendations include mandatory safety inspections after any accident that requires hospitalization, and making injury records public.