Press Releases

Currently showing results related to Worker Safety and Health

Chairman Scott Statement on Workers’ Memorial Day

04.28.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in honor of Workers' Memorial Day. "As we mark Workers' Memorial Day this year, we remember the workers who have lost their lives and recommit to making workplaces safe. This year's remembrance comes at a particularly poignant time as our nation experiences its worst worker safety crisis in recent history. The Centers for Disease Control reports that more than 22,000 health care workers have been infecte… Continue Reading

As Workplace Infections and Deaths Rise, House Democrats Introduce Bill to Protect Workers from COVID-19

04.21.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairwoman Alma Adams (NC-12), and Congresswoman Donna Shalala (FL-27) introduced legislation to protect U.S. workers from COVID-19 in response to disturbing, widespread reports of unsafe workplaces leading to preventable illnesses and deaths. The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act (H.R. 6559) would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Sta… Continue Reading

Chairman Scott Statement on OSHA Safety Directive

04.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott issued the following statement after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a new enforcement directive for health care facilities in response to COVID-19. "Over the past few months, we have seen the tragic consequences of the Department of Labor's failure to take urgent action to protect frontline health care workers and other essential employees. Without an enforceable workplace safety standard to protect workers … Continue Reading

Chairman Scott, Rep. Adams Call on Secretary Scalia to Take Immediate Action to Protect Workers Against COVID-19

03.06.20 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chair Alma Adams (NC-12) called on Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Eugene Scalia to take immediate action to protect U.S. workers against COVID-19. In a letter to the Department, the Committee leaders asked Secretary Scalia to direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard in response to the emerging COVID-1… Continue Reading

GAO Report Finds Lax Government Oversight Allowed Coal Mine Executives to Dump Nearly $1 Billion in Debt on U.S. Taxpayers

02.26.20 *Subcommittee on Workforce Protections will hold a hearing on the report today at 2:00 p.m.* WASHINGTON - A new report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) today revealed that since 2014, the bankruptcies of just three coal companies - Alpha Natural Resources, James River Coal, and Patriot Coal - shifted $865 million in liabilities to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (Trust Fund) and American taxpayers. In each case, the report found that the Department of Labor failed to … Continue Reading

Committee Advances Bipartisan Proposal to Secure Clear, Strong Protections for Pregnant Workers

01.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor advanced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694), a bipartisan proposal to secure clear and strong protections for pregnant workers. The legislation guarantees pregnant workers' right to reasonable accommodations - such as extra bathroom breaks, relief from heavy lifting, and other minor job modifications that ensure they can continue working without jeopardizing their health or the health of their pregnancy. The bill is being led b… Continue Reading

Congressman Courtney Introduces Legislation to Reduce Violence Against Health Care and Social Service Workers

02.21.19 WASHINGTON - Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), a senior Member of the House Education and Labor Committee, introduced legislation this week to curb rising rates of workplace violence facing health care and social service employees such as nurses, physicians, emergency responders, medical assistants, and social workers. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1309) is co-sponsored by Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the House … Continue Reading

Chairman Scott Statement on Trump Administration Rollback of Worker Safety Protections

01.24.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Trump administration issued a final rule to rollback worker safety regulations. Specifically, the new rule would no longer require workplaces with 250 or more employees to electronically report workplace injuries and illnesses to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). "As the National Academy of Sciences reported last year, accurate and transparent reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses… Continue Reading

Chairman Scott and Senator Warren Lead Request for Inspector General Audit of DOL's Controversial Child Labor Rule

01.08.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (D- Va.), Committee on Education and Labor and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Inspector General (IG) Scott Dahl requesting an audit of DOL to determine whether the agency deviated from agency regulatory and data quality requirements when it developed a proposed rule relaxing child labor standards in health care occupations. Joining Chairman Scott and Senator Warren in sending the letter are Representati… Continue Reading

Courtney Introduces Legislation to Reduce Violence Against Health Care and Social Service Workers

11.16.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Joe Courtney, (CT-02), a senior member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, introduced legislation aimed at curtailing rising rates of on the job violence facing health care and social service employees such as nurses, physicians, emergency responders, medical assistants, and social service workers. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, H.R. 7141, directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA… Continue Reading

Top House Democrats: Proposed Change to Child Labor Rules Could Endanger Young People and Patients

09.26.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), and Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to operate patient lifts in health care settings. "This rushed proposal to repeal restrictions on teens' use of patient lifts could endanger the safety of young workers and the patients they serve. It appears the De… Continue Reading

47 Democrats Caution DOL About Plans to Weaken Hazardous Work Protections for Young Workers

08.02.18 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human, Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), along with 42 other House Democrats sent a letter… Continue Reading

Scott, Neal Release New GAO Report on the Solvency of the Black Lung Trust Fund

06.04.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), Committee on Education and the Workforce and Ranking Member Richard Neal (MA-01), Committee on Ways and Means issued the following statements after the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report titled, "Black Lung Benefits Program: Options for Improving Trust Fund Finances." The Members requested the report to investigate the solvency of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund given the impending sunset of the coal tax rate at… Continue Reading

Scott Statement on 8th Anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion

04.05.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the eighth anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, which took the lives of 29 coal miners. "Since the Upper Big Branch Mine (UBB) explosion that took the lives of 29 coal miners eight years ago, all five independent investigation reports by state and federal agencies agree that the mine operator violated multiple safety standards. Key safety controls, such as water sprays, were disabled which enabled … Continue Reading

Committee Democrats Hold Administration Accountable for Miners' Health and Safety

02.06.18 WASHINGTON - Today, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Assistant Secretary David G. Zatezalo testified before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Assistant Secretary Zatezalo's testimony comes as rates of pulmonary massive fibrosis (PMF) -- the most advanced form of black lung disease -- are surging among Appalachian miners. Committee Democrats raised concerns that, under the Trump administration, MSHA is not taking the necessary steps to address this public health crisis. … Continue Reading

Scott, DeLauro, Murray, Casey: Occupational Safety and Health Administration Is Abandoning Its Core Mission by Rejecting Safety Recommendations to Protect Vulnerable Meat and Poultry Plant Workers

02.02.18 Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta raising questions about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) decision to reject health and safety recommendations for workers in meat and poultry plants, including ensuring workers have access to bathroom facilities. The recommendations by the independent Government Acco… Continue Reading

More than 150 Democrats Ask Trump to Invest in Public School Infrastructure

01.17.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and 153 House Democrats sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the administration to invest in the critical infrastructure that affects every city and town in the nation - our public schools. Too many of the more than 50 million students and six million staff who learn and work in our public schools spend their days in facilities that fail to make the grade. "To address this crisis, the federal government should partner with states and te… Continue Reading

Scott, Murray, Casey Unveil New Report Showing Need to Protect Meat & Poultry Workers

12.07.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) released the findings of a Government Accountability Office report (GAO) calling for federal agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), to do more to protect w… Continue Reading

Committee Democrats Hold Trump Administration Accountable for Anti-Worker Agenda

11.15.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary R. Alexander Acosta testified before the full Committee on Education and the Workforce. As the Secretary, Mr. Acosta is the steward of the laws that govern our nation's workplaces and promote a fairer economy for all. Secretary Acosta's testimony comes at a critical time for America's working people. Despite low levels of unemployment, millions of workers are still struggling to make ends meet and get ahead in the workplace. Rather tha… Continue Reading

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