Wyoming legislative committee shelves review of state OSHA program
Photo: State of Wyoming Legislature
Cheyenne, WY – Even though Wyoming has one of the highest occupational death rates in the country, the state will not yet conduct a study examining how it could better prevent workplace injuries and deaths.
The Wyoming Management Audit Committee – which is composed of state senators and representatives – on Aug. 7 released a scoping paper that evaluated the idea of studying the effectiveness of the Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
During a July 27-28 meeting, the committee approved a move to refine potential evaluation questions, but decided to hold off on conducting a full evaluation.
Possible audit questions raised in the scoping paper include:
- How does a state law prohibiting regulations more stringent than federal OSHA affect Wyoming’s ability to address workplace injuries and fatalities?
- What are effective ways of promoting workplace safety and health among employers?
- How do employees contribute to workplace injuries and fatalities?
The topic will be discussed during an upcoming committee meeting, tentatively scheduled for early January.
In 2013, Wyoming had the second highest on-the-job fatality rate among all states, with 9.5 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The national average was 3.3.