OSHA putting worker safety first. That’s a first.
Of course, businesses aren’t thrilled that OSHA is trying to protect workers because that protection comes at a price. You know how you can tell if a regulator is doing its job well? If the entities it regulates aren’t happy.
WASHINGTON -- Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is moving quickly to deliver on her promise that the Obama administration would be more vigorous in protecting workers' safety than the Bush administration.
The Labor Department this week sped up the process of establishing rules to protect workers from exposure to a harmful chemical sometimes used in making microwave-popcorn flavoring, which has been linked to a condition called "popcorn lung."
Unions applauded the move, seeing it as effectively reversing the Bush administration's approach to the issue, and an early sign that the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be reinvigorated.
Business groups, meanwhile, responded warily to Ms. Solis's action.