During fiscal years 1994 through 1998, more than half of OSHA’s inspections were programmed. OSHA Inspections at Establishments With and Without Labor Unrest

During fiscal years 1994 through 1998, OSHA inspected, on average, about 8.6 percent of the approximately 22,000 establishments each year that experienced labor unrest (about 1,900 inspections a year). 1). Statutory Requirement and OSHA Policy May Be Associated With Higher Inspection Rate for Establishments With Labor Unrest

The statutory requirement that OSHA investigate valid complaints and its long-standing policy to investigate fatalities and catastrophes may help to explain the higher rate of inspection for establishments with labor unrest. In contrast, only 27 percent of all inspections OSHA conducted during this period were the result of a complaint (22 percent) or a fatality or catastrophe (5 percent) (see fig. Thus, OSHA inspections at establishments experiencing labor unrest were 2.5 times more likely to result from a complaint, fatality, or catastrophe than OSHA inspections in general. Higher Representation of Unionized Establishments in Inspections of Establishments With Labor Unrest

Approximately 76 percent of the OSHA inspections at establishments experiencing labor unrest during fiscal years 1994 through 1998 were conducted at unionized establishments. 3). Under these policies, federal and state OSHA officials stated that inspections resulting from complaints, fatalities, and catastrophes are to be conducted even during periods of labor unrest. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

We were asked to determine (1) the extent to which employers experiencing labor unrest are more likely to be inspected than employers not experiencing labor unrest, and (2) whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has policies for performing inspections during labor unrest and whether these policies are being followed. To determine whether employers experiencing labor unrest are more likely to be inspected than employers not experiencing labor unrest, we (1) identified the universe of establishments that experienced labor unrest and determined how many of these were inspected by OSHA and (2) determined how many of the establishments that did not experience labor unrest were inspected by OSHA. This accounted for approximately 40,000 cases each year. 4).
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed worker protection, focusing on: (1) the extent to which employers experiencing labor unrest are more likely to be inspected than employers not experiencing labor unrest; and (2) whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has policies for performing inspections during labor unrest and whether these policies are followed.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) establishments experiencing labor unrest are about 6.5 times more likely to be inspected by OSHA than establishments not experiencing labor unrest (8.6 percent inspected compared with about 1.3 percent) during fiscal years (FY) 1994 through 1998; (2) the statutory requirement that OSHA investigate valid complaints and OSHA's policy to investigate a fatality or catastrophe may be related to the higher rate of inspection for establishments experiencing labor unrest; (3) about 68 percent of the approximately 1,900 OSHA inspections conducted each year at establishments experiencing labor unrest resulted from complaints, fatalities, or catastrophes; (4) in contrast, only about 27 percent of the approximately 100,000 total inspections OSHA conducted each year resulted from complaints, fatalities, or catastrophes; (5) about 76 percent of the establishments with labor unrest that were inspected by OSHA from FY 1994 through FY 1998 were unionized, as compared with about 24 percent of all establishments inspected by OSHA over this period; (6) while it did not appear that unionized establishments were in general more likely to receive a complaint-based inspection than nonunionized establishments, GAO's analysis did find that, among establishments experiencing labor unrest, there were a higher proportion of complaint-based inspections at unionized establishments than at nonunionized establishments; (7) OSHA's policy concerning inspections during labor unrest provides discretion for programmed inspections; (8) OSHA may delay programmed inspections during periods of labor unrest, such as a strike, which would prevent OSHA inspectors from witnessing actual work operations; (9) however, OSHA officials said that it has rarely delayed these inspections; and (10) statutory requirements or OSHA's long-standing policy dictate that inspections resulting from valid complaints, fatalities, or catastrophes--which accounted for the majority of OSHA's inspections at establishments with labor unrest during FY 1994 through FY 1998--must be performed, regardless of whether labor unrest exists.