Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) - Federal Employees at Greater Risk for Death, Injury

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http://www.occupationalhazards.com/news/news_loader.asp?articleID=49337

5/1/2002

CAGW Reports Federal Employees at Greater Risk for Death, Injury

by Sandy (ssmith@...)

Are federal agency employees at greater risk to die from an occupational

injury or illness than workers in " high risk " private industries such as

manufacturing, poultry slaughtering and processing, industrial machinery and

equipment production? According to a report released by Citizens Against

Government Waste (CAGW), the answer is " yes. "

A debate over protections for government workers, who are not protected by

federal or state-plan Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA),

has raged on for years. The CAGW report, " Workplace Safety in the Federal

Government: Record of Failure, Legacy of Waste, " found that federal

workplace injuries and deaths cost taxpayers at least $2 billion a year in

medical and compensation costs alone. Numerous indirect economic costs,

including lost productivity and diminished worker morale, and other direct

costs, can increase that total to as much as $10 billion a year, according

to the report.

" Congress should hold oversight hearings to find out why the federal

government fails dismally to safeguard federal employees on the job, " said

the report's author, CAGW Senior Fellow E. Frydenlund. " The bottom line

is the federal government can get twice the 'bang' for the buck: accomplish

a safer federal workplace and put the savings toward winning the war on

terrorism or other national priorities. "

The report is based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and

OSHA. Some interesting findings include:

The occupational injury rate for the Government Printing Office was four

times higher than the commercial printing trade services industry in both

1999 and 2000.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) accounts for 28 percent of the federal

government workers covered by the government's Federal Employment

Compensation Act (FECA), but represents 33 percent - $666 million - of the

$2 billion FECA spends annually to compensate victims and their families for

workplace illnesses, injuries, and deaths.

The report cites numerous workplace safety success models in the private

sector, such as DuPont, which has a recordable injury and illness rate that

is approximately 1/20 of the average for its SIC code. H.J. Heinz Co.,

Pittsburgh, Pa., improved its lost workday case rate by 65 percent and

reduced the total number of workers compensation claims and the total cost

of claims submitted by 50 percent from 1995 to 2000.

Ryder, Miami, Fla., decreased its bodily injury physical damage claims from

4.71 to 3.55 per 1 million miles driven and workers' compensation expenses

per employee from $148 to $104. Ryder received the National Safety Council's

2002 Green Cross for Safety Award.

" The federal government can improve its workplace safety record by learning

from the success stories in the private sector and tapping private industry

expertise, " Frydenlund concluded. " Doing so could not only save lives and

livelihoods, but also taxpayer money. "

The full text of the report is available at www.cagw.org