OCR Text |
Show I u.s.s. I OSHA attitude overbearing towards Business In a recent survey conducted by my office, Utah Small Businessmen indicated that they feel government regulator agencies are too powerful and that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is especially threatening. This helps to illustrate that OSHA has not lived up to its goal of helping employers implement safe and healthy working conditions. It places an inordinate emphasis on punishing them for non-conpliance non-conpliance with regulations and little or no emphasis on helping them toward compliance. Among those surveyed, 50 percent had had contact with OSHA and the majority felt OSHA had adversely affected their business. Challenging an OSHA citation can cost hundreds of dollars. Hence, many small businessmen have not attempted it even when they considered themselves innocent. I am co-sponsoring co-sponsoring legislation which provide that any employer who successfully contests an OSHA penalty be awarded a reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs. Another bill which I have joined in sponsoring would provide for free, voluntary, on- site consultation to help employers em-ployers comply with OSHA standards. Presently, if OSHA officials visit a business to advise on the applicability of the rules, they must cite the employer for any violations they find. Thus employers are discouraged from asking the agency's advice. This bill would promote a better working relationship between OSHA and the employer. Aside from legislation, other , efforts are being made to correct OSHA's atrocities. The Federal Commission on Paperwork has a been designated to reduce the overwhelming bureaucratic t paperload. So far, the Com- mission has made 26 recom- mendations to reduce the f paperwork in OSHA. If only the first two recommendations are ' adopted business sources say it will save some four-million small businesses an estimated $42-million. $42-million. The Carter Administration has promised to work at reducing the bureaucracy. Hopefully, with new legislation and cooperation from the Administration, OSHA will be one of the first agencies to ease from small businessmen the pressures of tedious rules and unnecessary regulations. |