More than 13,500 businesses nationwide were recently notified by the government that their on-the-job injury and illness rates are much higher than the national average – and a 10 of them were in Fort Bend County.
The notification went out earlier this month in the form of letters from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as “a proactive step to encourage employers to take action now to reduce these rates and improve safety and health conditions in their workplaces,” OSHA said in a statement.
Businesses that received the OSHA letters had workplace injury and illness rates of more than twice the national average, according to employer-reported data OSHA collected from a 2008 survey of 80,000 work sites.
“Employers whose businesses have injury and illness rates this high need to take immediate steps to protect their workers,” said Jordan Barab, acting assistant secretary of labor.
According to an OSHA database, 1,128 businesses in Texas received the OSHA letters. The Fort Bend County businesses that were among them included:
→ Complete Healthcare Resources Inc. of Rosenberg;
→ Hayes Industries Inc. of Sugar Land;
→ Katy Steel Company Inc. of Katy;
→ Laser Shot Inc. of Stafford;
→ Mason Road Sheet Metal Inc. of Katy;
→ NCI Building Systems LP of Stafford;
→ SSC Missouri City Operating Company LP;
→ Silver Eagle Distributors of Rosenberg;
→ Silverado Senior Living Inc. of Sugar Land;
→ Wyatt Resources Inc. of Fulshear.
Two other businesses – Orizon Industries Inc. and Saturn Machine Inc., both of Brookshire – were on the list and just outside Fort Bend.
By way of comparison, 118 Houston businesses received the OSHA letters.
“I am writing you to indicate my concern about the high DART rate at your establishment and to identify ways that you can obtain assistance in addressing hazards in your workplace,” the letter, writtten by Deputy Assistant OSHA Secretary Donal Shalhoub, says in part, referring to the agency’s “Days Away from work, Restricted or Transferred rate, which tracks work injuries and illnesses.
“OSHA recognizes that your elevated DART rate does not necessarily indicate a lack of interest in safety and health,” Shalhoub said in the letter. “Whatever the cause, a high rate is costly to your company in both personal and financial terms. In addition, you should be aware that OSHA may target up to 4,500 of the workplaces identified in the survey for inspection in the next year.”
