It didn’t take long for Trump to deceive injured workers. Despite campaign promises to help “middle class” workers, Trump signed legislation relaxing the reporting requirements for employers when workers get hurt or ill due to their jobs. Trump and the Republicans rolled back a rule issued by former President Barack Obama. By ending the rule, Trump and Republicans effectively shortened the amount of time employers in dangerous industries have to keep accurate records of worker injuries – from five years to just six months. The Republican-controlled Congress used a little-known legislative tool known as the Congressional Review Act to repeal the Obama regulation last month. Democrats were incensed. By signing the bill, Trump can legally prevent the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from requiring a similar rule in the future.
Labor leaders and workplace safety experts warn that the rollback of the OSHA recordkeeping rule will allow unscrupulous companies to cheat on their injury data and conceal ongoing hazards from OSHA regulators. That concealment could make it harder for OSHA to identify recurring problems at certain employers and industries. Debbie Berkowitz, a former OSHA policy adviser and advisor to the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG), now with the National Employment Law Project, indicated “This will give license to employers to keep fraudulent records and to willfully violate the law with impunity.”
It was only a matter of time before Trump showed his disdain for injured workers and his true allegiance to business.
