Current:Home > MarketsLabor union asks federal regulators to oversee South Carolina workplace safety program-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Labor union asks federal regulators to oversee South Carolina workplace safety program
View Date:2025-01-13 17:06:44
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — One of the largest labor organizations in the United States petitioned the federal government on Thursday to wrest workplace safety oversight from South Carolina regulators accused of failing to protect service employees.
South Carolina is one of 22 states allowed to run its own ship when it comes to enforcing occupational safety in most private businesses — as long as the programs are “at least as effective” as their federal counterpart. Service Employees International Union argues that’s not the case in South Carolina, where its lawyer says a subpar enforcement program and “skeletal inspection force” are preventing real accountability.
Organizers also said in the Dec. 7 filing to the U.S. Labor Department that the state does not carry out enough inspections. South Carolina ran fewer inspections than expected by federal regulators in four of the five years from 2017-2022. The totals fitting for a state economy of its size fell 50% below federal expectations in 2018, according to the petition.
South Carolina conducted 287 inspections in 2022, or about 1.9 for every 1,000 establishments — a figure the organization said is less than one-third the rate in the surrounding states of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as the national average.
Furthermore, serious safety violations recently carried weaker sanctions in South Carolina than required, SEIU said. The state’s average state penalty of $2,019 for all private sector employers in fiscal year 2022 fell below the national average of $3,259, according to the union.
The Republican-led state is challenging recent federal penalty increases, though a federal court dismissed its case earlier this year.
The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thursday’s filing marked labor groups’ latest challenge to the South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A civil rights complaint filed in April accused the agency of racial discrimination by failing to routinely workplaces with disproportionately large numbers of Black employees.
The SEIU hopes that federal pressure will compel changes like those seen recently in Arizona. The southwestern state adopted new standards — including laws to ensure maximum and minimum penalties align with federal levels — after the U.S. Department of Labor announced its reconsideration of the Arizona State OSHA plan last year.
___
Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
veryGood! (59)
Related
- Suspected shooter and four others are found dead in three Kansas homes, police say
- Pope cancels trip to Dubai for UN climate conference on doctors’ orders while recovering from flu
- King Charles Wrote Letters to Meghan Markle About Skin Color Comments After Oprah Winfrey Interview
- At least 40 civilians killed by al-Qaida-linked rebels in a Burkina Faso town, UN rights office says
- 2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom
- The NBA in-season tournament bracket is taking shape. See who's still got a shot tonight.
- NFL postseason clinching scenarios: Eagles can be first team to earn playoff berth in Week 13
- Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s longtime sidekick at Berkshire Hathaway, dies at 99
- Wheel of Fortune Contestant Goes Viral Over His Hilariously Wrong Answer
- Judge enters $120M order against former owner of failed Michigan dam
Ranking
- Sean Diddy Combs' Lawyers File New Motion for Bail, Claiming Evidence Depicts a Consensual Relationship
- Busch Gardens sinkhole spills millions of gallons of wastewater, environmental agency says
- Navy removes fuel from spy plane that crashed into environmentally sensitive bay in Hawaii
- Florida official’s body went undiscovered for 24 minutes outside Capitol meeting room last year
- 'I know how to do math': New Red Lobster CEO says endless shrimp deal is not coming back
- Dolly Parton reveals hilarious reason she refuses to learn how to text
- The Excerpt podcast: Israel-Hamas truce extended through Wednesday
- Free COVID tests headed to nation's schools
Recommendation
-
Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 9 drawing: Jackpot rises to $92 million
-
Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 27 drawing: Check your tickets for $374 million jackpot
-
Groom kills his bride and 4 others at wedding reception in Thailand, police say
-
US mediators reject attempt by flight attendants to clear the path for a strike at American Airlines
-
Diamond Sports Group can emerge out of bankruptcy after having reorganization plan approved
-
Person arrested with gun after reports of gunshots at Virginia’s Christopher Newport University
-
Georgia Senate panel calls for abolishing state permits for health facilities
-
Southern California mother charged with drowning 9-year-old daughter in bathtub