Wash. Businesses Must Fix Hazards During Citation Appeal

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed a bill into law that will require businesses fighting a Department of Labor & Industries citation to fix hazards during an appeal appeal.

Each year, hundreds of workplace hazards across the state are left uncorrected, exposing many workers to potential dangers while a business owner appeals a safety or health citation, she said. Senate Bill 5068 amends the 1973 Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA), requiring businesses to correct serious safety violations — and the hazards they pose — during the appeal.

“This change to our state worker safety laws offers significant improvement for worker safety,” said Michael Silverstein, assistant director, L&I Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “This allows us to ensure that hazards are corrected even as we continue discussions with employers who may disagree with our citations.”

Under prior rules, if a business appealed an L&I citation involving a serious workplace safety violation, there has been no obligation to correct the hazard for which they were cited until the appeal is resolved.

For example, L&I said one company it cited in 2006 for several serious violations after a worker suffered lead poisoning did not correct the hazards during the appeal process. The citation was upheld. However, before the company corrected the hazards, a second worker also suffered lead poisoning.

Nationally, a recent analysis by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that in the decade between 1999 and 2009, there were at least 30 appealed cases where a fatality occurred at the same site before the appeal was resolved.

In Washington, about 10 percent of all citations are appealed annually. Most businesses correct the hazard during the appeal process, but some do not.

While the bill requires employers to correct hazards during an appeal, they can seek a stay to the requirement. Under the bill such requests will receive an expedited review.

L&I will form a stakeholder group with business and labor representatives and begin work on the safety rule. For information, visit www.Lni.wa.gov/Safety/Rules/WhatsNew/.

Topics Washington