OFFICIALS from Occupational Safety and Health Administration were happy to share with the Rotary Club of Saipan some updates and other important information pertaining to workers’ rights.
OSHA Region 9 outreach manager Justine L. Callahan and on-site consultation program manager Tim Asaivao were the Rotarians’ guest speakers during the club’s weekly meeting Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Giovanni’s Restaurant.
Callahan presented an overview of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which was signed into law on Dec. 29, 1970 to create OSHA as an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor.
She said OSHA’s mission is “to ensure safe and healthful working condition for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.”
Callahan said President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget includes an $89 million increase for OSHA so it can restore and rebuild capacities and programs that benefit workers, their families and their communities.
She said OSHA is dedicated to the proposition that no worker should have to choose between their life and their job.
In Region 9, which includes the CNMI, Callahan said OSHA has been processing a significant number of enforcement cases. These include amputations, construction inspections, warehouse operations, ship and boat building and repair, smelters, federal agencies, hotels, casinos and retail facilities.
Asaivao said majority of maintenance and construction workers in the CNMI are from outside the U.S., “where they typically don’t follow U.S. regulations.”
Callahan said to establish health and safety as core values in every workplace in America, people must value health and safety for themselves and their families. OSHA’s goal, she added, is to align workplace values with that core.
Callahan also told Rotarians that OSHA has a whistleblower protection program. She said employers cannot take adverse action against workers for engaging in activities protected by the federal whistleblower law. Some examples of these adverse actions may include, but not limited to, firing the employee, laying off, demoting, denying overtime and reducing hours or pay.
In addition, OSHA provides compliance assistance. Callahan said the OSHA on-site consultation program conducts more than 24,000 free visits annually. OSHA is working to improve compliance assistance materials to make them more user-friendly, she added.
Record-keeping and reporting processes are designed to enhance OSHA compliance, she said. Employers must notify OSHA within eight hours if a worker dies on the job and within 24 hours if there is an amputation or loss of an eye, she added.
As of May 2022, Callahan said the most frequently cited violations included fall protection in the construction industry, which has been among the leading cases for the past decade.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration Region 9 outreach manager Justine Callahan speaks during the Rotary Club of Saipan meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Giovanni’s Restaurant on Tuesday.
