HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16

(By Delegates Fleischauer, Miley, Hunt, Michael,

                    and Skaff)

Urging the Governor to include adequate funding in his fiscal year 2012 budget so as to fully implement the West Virginia Occupational, Safety and Health Act for public employees.

    Whereas, The Legislature enacted Chapter 21, Article 3A of the West Virginia Code, known and cited as the West Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) in 1987, to be administered by the Division of Labor (hereinafter referred to as “the Division”); and

    Whereas, At the time of it’s enactment, the Legislature specifically made findings that: (1) The safety and health of public employees in the workplace is of primary public concern; and (2) That personal injuries and illnesses arising out of work situations result not only in wage loss and increased medical expenses for public employees, but also in decreased productivity and increased workers' compensation expenses for public employers (See W.Va. Code § 21-3A-1a); and

    Whereas, As a result of these findings, the Legislature declares that it is the policy of this state to ensure that: (1) All public employees be provided with safe and healthful work environments free from recognized and avoidable hazards; (2) It is the responsibility of the state to promulgate standards for the protection of the health and safety of its public workforce; and (3) It is in the public interest for public employers and public employees to join in a cooperative effort to enforce these standards; Id.

    Whereas, The Act requires educational programs on occupational safety and health issues to be provided to public employees; awareness programs directed at state employees in managerial positions; routine, unannounced inspections if public workplaces; and compilation of public employer statistics on occupational injuries and illnesses; and

    Whereas, In short, the Act requires the Division to be proactive to ensure the health and safety of public employees; and

    Whereas, Currently, the Division has limited its role in administering the Act to responding to complaints rather than monitoring compliance with occupational health and safety standards; and

    Whereas, While the investigation of complaints is an important function, the current approach has the disadvantage of allowing potentially unsafe or unhealthy work environments to go undetected because of employees’ reluctance to report violations because of a concern that they may lose their jobs; and

    Whereas, According to a 2002 Legislative audit and a 2010 supplemental audit, the Act has not ever been properly implemented or enforced; and

    Whereas, Specifically, the 2002 Legislative audit found that the Division was not pro-actively inspecting public workplaces or collecting public employer statistics, and had not established two review panels required by law; and

    Whereas, Despite the findings contained in the 2002 audit, a supplemental audit in 2010 found that the Act was still not being implemented in any meaningful fashion; and

    Whereas, Since the passage of the Act in 1987, the state budget has failed to provide the Division the appropriate funding to implement the provisions of the Act; and

    Whereas, The Division has made repeated requests for funding for the fiscal years 2003 through 2011 ranging from $467,074 to $554,117. However, the requests have not been included in the Governor’s budget; and

    Whereas, Implementation and enforcement of the Act may provide access to federal matching funds for state implementation and enforcement of the Act’s standards for public employees; and

    Whereas, The Legislature is committed to ensuring that all employees of the state have a safe workplace, and implementation and enforcement of the Act would further that priority; therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That the Legislature hereby urges to the Governor to provide adequate funding in his fiscal year 2011 budget so as to fully implement the West Virginia Occupational, Safety and Health Act for public employees; and, be it

    Further Resolved, That if the Governor fails to provide adequate funding to fully implement the West Virginia Occupational, Safety and Health Act in his fiscal year 2011 budget, the House and Senate Finance Committees are urged to include funding to fully implement the Act in the 2011 budget; and, be it

    Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates, forward a copy of this resolution to the Governor.

    This resolution was recommended for introduction and adoption during the 2011 Regular Session of the Legislature by the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary.