By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
An average of 13 workers die on the job a day, often because of unsafe working conditions.
Now the Justice and Labor Departments are bolstering efforts to crack down on employers who put the lives and health of their workers at risk, Construction & Demolition Recycling reports.
“On an average day in America, 13 workers die on the job, thousands are injured and 150 succumb to diseases they obtained from exposure to carcinogens and other toxic and hazardous substances while they worked,” said Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates. “Given the troubling statistics on workplace deaths and injuries, the Department of Justice is redoubling its efforts to hold accountable those who unlawfully jeopardize workers’ health and safety.”
Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Chris Lu added, “Safety and security in the workplace are a shared commitment. Workplace injuries and illnesses cause an enormous amount of physical, financial and emotional hardship for workers and their families and underscore the urgent need for employers to provide a safe workplace for their employees.”
Both departments began meeting last year to team up to prosecute more cases of worker endangerment violations.
