A contractor sent me a note from the National Roofing Contractors Association which indicates that the Trump administration is increasing the manpower of safety inspectors and whistleblower investigators regarding construction worksite safety. The note was based on an article, Labor Secretary: OSHA Jobsite inspections Likely to Increase, which stated:
• In a written statement to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Acosta said OSHA hired 76 new inspectors in the 2018 fiscal year and that it would be anywhere from a year to three years before they will be ready to conduct field inspections on their own. Even so, he told subcommittee members that OSHA had conducted 32,000 inspections each year in 2017 and 2018, an increase from 2016 figures.
• President Donald Trump, he said, is requesting $557 million for OSHA in his Fiscal Year 2020 budget request, an increase from last year, which would pay for additional staff, including 30 additional compliance officers and five more whistleblower investigators.
The article noted that a residential contractor in Jacksonville was recently fined over a million dollars for workplace safety violations. Some insurance adjusters are under the wrong impression that worksite construction safety laws and costs do not apply to residential construction. They do apply to residential construction costs and have to be included with insurance estimates.
I have written a number of articles emphasizing the need for insurance construction estimates to include line item costs for OSHA compliance and safety:
https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2019/03/articles/insurance/a-safe-workplace-what-property-insurance-adjusters-must-include-in-an-estimate/
https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2019/03/articles/insurance/getting-the-xactimate-construction-price-right/
https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2019/02/articles/insurance/restoration-contractors-providing-great-quality-workmanship-are-policyholder/
https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2018/05/articles/insurance/insurance-repair-estimates-must-include-costs-of-personal-protection-equipment/
Workplace Safety and OSHA expert, Kevin Dandridge, will be speaking at the Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters Spring Conference on May 14 in Atlanta regarding these important issues and costs. Here is a link to sign up for this event.
Happy Friday and have a great Masters Tournament Weekend!
Quote For The Day
Government’s first duty and highest obligation is public safety.
—Arnold Schwarzenegger
