The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to fail to protect warehouse workers from injuries and needs better protocols for addressing complaints regarding worker safety, according to the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General’s annual report to Congress.
The report, released Thursday, calls on OSHA to develop “specific, measurable inspection goals” for programs that target specific warehouses, including establishing a baseline for the number of inspections and periodically monitoring progress toward safety and inspection goals.
The OIG also recommends that OSHA develop a more effective enforcement strategy to improve employers’ reporting of injuries and that the agency “gather more specific supporting information about injuries to better identify the count and type of injuries reported, such as musculoskeletal disorders.”
In addressing protocols for managing safety complaints from workers, the OIG recommends OSHA modify its manual to require mandatory interviews of complainants and witnesses.
The report also reiterated that OSHA did not do enough to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as previously noted in audits.