Legislative Proposals to Increase Workplace Safety
Following sharp criticism by federal authorities of Nevada's failure to appropriately address the rash of workplace deaths and employers' safety violations in the recent past, a state legislative subcommittee met and agreed on several legislative proposals. The sub-committee's recommended bill drafts for the 2011 legislative session include imposing higher fines on employers, forwarding information on deaths and workplace accidents to a local district attorney or state attorney general for further action, and keeping families of fatally injured workers updated on investigations. It does not appear that any of the recommended proposals included increased benefits to injured workers or to the families of deceased injured workers if it can be established that the injury or death was caused by the employer's disregard of safety rules. That's too bad, as I think increased benefits are needed to get the attention of employers who repeatedly disregard their employees' safety in trying to complete projects quickly and at less cost.
