Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Worker Safety and Health
Scott, Murray, Franken, Wilson, and Courtney Commend OSHA for Efforts to Address Workplace Violence Against Healthcare Workers
01.10.17 WASHINGTON - U.S. Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), U.S. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-24), and U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) issued the following statement after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced new actions to prevent violence against healthcare workers. These actions follow the findings of an April 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examining the prevalence of workpla… Continue Reading
Scott Applauds Final Rule to Protect Workers from Beryllium Exposure
01.06.17 WASHINGTON - Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the final rule updating the levels of permissible beryllium exposure to workers. The nearly 70-year-old old standard for workers exposed to beryllium has failed to protect workers from contracting chronic beryllium disease and cancer. "OSHA's beryllium rule, which took 18 years to develop, reduces permissible exposure levels by 90 percent, and is estimated to prevent 900 premature deaths due to the ravages of ch… Continue Reading
Democrats Push For New Standards to Protect Workers from Violence on the Job
07.18.16 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Members Bobby Scott (D-VA), of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Patty Murray (D-WA), of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions led a bicameral letter to Department of Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez requesting protections against violence for working Americans. On April 14, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report outlining actions needed to reduce and mitigate the incidence of workplace violence in h… Continue Reading
New GAO Report: Workers in Meat and Poultry Industry Face High, Persistent Rates of Injury and Illness
05.25.16 WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), and Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), released the findings of a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on actions needed to address continued hazards in the meat and poultry industry. The report found that workers in meat and poultry plants continue to face unsafe working conditions, and confirms that many injuries and illnesses go underreported as workers may fear for their jobs if they repor… Continue Reading
House Democrats Issue Joint Statement on 3rd Anniversary of Bangladesh Rana Plaza Collapse
04.22.16 WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI), Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), and Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Joe Crowley (D-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Jackie Speier (D-CA) today released the following joint statement ahead of Sunday's three-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh. The collapse killed 1,134 workers and injured approximately 2,500 more in the… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray, Wilson and Courtney Unveil New Report on Workplace Violence against Healthcare Workers
04.14.16 WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), U.S. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-24) and U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) unveiled the findings of a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on actions needed to reduce and mitigate the incidence of workplace violence in healthcare facilities. Although healthcare facilities are perceived as a place to get well, many who are employed in these facilities face elevate… Continue Reading
Scott on Silica Rule: Most Significant Worker Health, Safety Protection in 40 Years
03.24.16 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released the final rule to curb lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease in America's workers by limiting their exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The rule is comprised of two standards, one for Construction and one for General Industry and Maritime: "This sta… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on FY16 Omnibus
12.18.15 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on House passage of H.R. 2029, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2016, which fully funds the federal government through September 30, 2016, provides a two year implementation delay of the excise tax on high-cost employer sponsored health insurance plans, makes important investments in students and does not hinder the Department of Labor's ability to enforce rules that protect workers. The… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Conviction of Don Blankenship, Former Chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company
12.04.15 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after a federal jury found Don Blankenship, Former Chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company, conspired to violate mine safety and health standards at Massey’s Upper Big Branch Mine, where 29 miners died in an April 2010 explosion: “While I am pleased that there is some measure of justice for the miners and their families at Upper Big Branch mine - and commend the U.S. Attorney and his team for their … Continue Reading
Democrats Urge Congress to Strengthen Safety and Health Protections for Miners at Oversight Hearing
10.21.15 Issue a Call to Level the Playing Field for Coal Miner Claims under the Black Lung Benefits Act WASHINGTON - Today, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing entitled "Protecting America's Workers: Reviewing Mine Safety Policies with Stakeholders." Subcommittee Democrats called for strengthening health and safety protections for miners to help prevent black lung disease, providing the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) with additional tools to enforce safety standard… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray, Sanders Urge Stronger Oversight of State Workers’ Compensation Programs
10.21.15 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), wrote a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez urging him to strengthen oversight of state workers' compensation programs. In the letter, the members of Congress noted that state workers' compensation laws have eroded and are no longer providing adequate levels of support and compensation for those who are injured on the job, leaving workers to turn to… Continue Reading
Democrats Call for Adequate Funding, New Enforcement Tools for OSHA
10.07.15 WASHINGTON - At a hearing entitled "Protecting America's Workers: An Enforcement Update from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)," Democratic members of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections learned from the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels, that OSHA has very limited resources to inspect the typical job site. In fact, at the agency's current funding levels, they would only able to inspect a site once every 140 years. Th… Continue Reading
Reps. Cartwright, Scott, Senator Casey Introduce Sweeping Reforms to Black Lung Benefits Program
09.29.15 Legislation aims to prevent coal companies from unfairly denying benefits to deserving miners and families WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright (PA-17), Bobby Scott (VA-03) and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (PA) today proposed sweeping reforms to the federal program that provides benefits to coal miners suffering from black lung disease. Federal law requires that coal companies compensate disabled miners who contract black lung, which is caused by inhaling coal dust ov… Continue Reading
Murray, Scott Applaud New Worker Protections Limiting Harmful Beryllium Exposure
08.06.15 WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), the ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, praised a new standard to reduce workplace exposure to beryllium, a mineral that has been linked to lung disease and, in some cases, been fatal. In addition to limiting beryllium exposure, the proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupati… Continue Reading
Joint Statement by Co-Sponsors of Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Responding to Rep. Walberg’s Pregnant Workers Bill
06.19.15 "No woman should have to choose between a healthy pregnancy and a paycheck… Under the guise of helping women, the Walberg bill simply creates more confusion for employees and exposes employers to additional litigation risk." WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-3), Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14), Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53), and Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11), co-spon… Continue Reading
Scott Commends Proposed Guidance for Fair Pay and Safe Workplace Executive Order
05.27.15 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott issued the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Labor issued proposed guidance on how the federal government should implement the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order that President Barack Obama signed on July 31, 2014: "The proposed regulations for implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order are an important first step in ensuring that the federal government will only issue contracts to companies … Continue Reading
Democrats Reject Proposal to Cut Benefits for Injured Workers
05.20.15 WASHINGTON - Today, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing to review the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposal that would cut workers' compensation benefits for federal workers who have been disabled due to job-related injury. Democratic committee members fervently rejected the proposal as it would leave most workers considerably worse off than if they had not incurred the injury. Ranking Member of the full Committee, Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Ranking Membe… Continue Reading
Workforce Protections Subcommittee Receives Enforcement Update from the Mine Safety and Health Administration
04.23.15 WASHINGTON - Today, in a hearing entitled "Protecting America's Workers: An Enforcement Update from the Mine Safety and Health Administration" the head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), testified before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. Joe Main, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety, outlined the steps that have been taken to protect miners in the five years since the Upper Big Branch tragedy took the lives of 29 miners in a preventable explosion. Mr. Main a… Continue Reading
Scott and Cummings Push for Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces
04.16.15 WASHINGTON - Today, 80 members of the House of Representatives called upon the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Labor to complete the review required to implement the President's Executive Order on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces (EO 13673). Representatives Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led the congressional movement.… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Labor Department Inspector General Report
04.13.15 WASHINGTON- House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement today on the Department of Labor Inspector General's newly released report on procedural changes to reduce the time required to adjudicate black lung benefit claims: "Miners with black lung disease are entitled to an accurate medical evaluation, fair treatment and timely decisions. The DOL Inspector General (IG) has made 23 recommendations that could enab… Continue Reading