Wayne Gray and John Scholz have published research indicating that OSHA inspections do make a difference. You can check out their paper "Do OSHA Inspections Reduce Injuries? A Panel Analysis." Also "Inside the Black Box," co-authored by Gray and John Mendeloff, which was published in the March 2005 issue of Law and Policy.The first paper they mentioned, "Do OSHA Inspections Reduce Injuries? A Panel Analysis," was published in 1991. Gray and Mendeloff followed that up with the paper, "The Declining Effects of OSHA Inspections on Manufacturing Injuries: 1979 to 1998," published in 2002, which shows a decline in OSHA effectiveness. I can't access the second reference, "Inside the Black Box: How do OSHA Inspections Lead to Reductions in Workplace Injuries?" so I'm not sure what it says.
It's interesting that these papers come from the National Bureau of Economic Research, not from the S&H field, although at least some of the funding for the research was provided by NIOSH.
DOL just announced a blog for open government. But, get this, you have to identify yourself when posting. No anonymous posting to get the true responses. So a negative comment could lead to a serious downturn in the quality of your life. Such as the Boss calls you in for a counseling session, you get a bad evaluation, you are put on an "enemies of the state list", you feel you are being followed when you travel, you feel you are being watched, you don't show up for work one day and you have been disappeared. Don't think that is possible? Think again. Post some comments trashing the DOL and try your luck. I dare you!
ReplyDeleteYou first.
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't need to submit anything anonymously on their blog, I have my own blog for just that purpose!
@ Abel: LOL! I think your comment demonstrates why DOL's blog likely won't work.
ReplyDeleteGreat find. I wish there was a current study.
ReplyDelete