DOL's Harris: Workplace safety a good investment

Washington – Preventing workplace deaths and keeping employees safe on the job requires the efforts of employers even in tough financial times, acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris said in remarks made during a Workers Memorial Day ceremony in Washington on April 29.

Responsible employers know that job growth and job safety are not “in tension,” Harris said, and that workplace safety is good for the economy. He called for “renewed vigilance” on worker safety in honor of those who died on the job.

In an April 26 proclamation for Workers Memorial Day, President Barack Obama said the country owes family members of dead workers “action and accountability” in ensuring safety on the job.

The thousands of workers who die each year in the United States is an “unacceptable price” citizens pay in trying to make a living, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) said in an April 29 statement. Miller is the ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and is co-sponsoring several pieces of legislation intended to improve workplace safety.

Workers Memorial Day takes place annually nationwide on April 28.