Wal-Mart Deal Shows A Shift On Policing Workplace
"When news came out a few days ago of the Bush administration's deal giving Wal-Mart advance warning before inspecting for labor law violations, I thought of a visit to The Courant by Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
It was Aug. 8, 2002, a summer when Chao was floating all sorts of ideas about ways to make her department more friendly to business."
She actually suggested that companies should receive advance warning of safety and health inspections. After all, she reasoned, most employers mean well, so why shouldn't the government help them to help workers?
We saw it when they instantly gutted ergonomics standards that had been in the works for a dozen years. We saw it with overtime rules. We saw it again last week with the Wal-Mart agreement. So when we see a cultural change in worker safety, it's worth a very skeptical look.
It was Aug. 8, 2002, a summer when Chao was floating all sorts of ideas about ways to make her department more friendly to business."
She actually suggested that companies should receive advance warning of safety and health inspections. After all, she reasoned, most employers mean well, so why shouldn't the government help them to help workers?
We saw it when they instantly gutted ergonomics standards that had been in the works for a dozen years. We saw it with overtime rules. We saw it again last week with the Wal-Mart agreement. So when we see a cultural change in worker safety, it's worth a very skeptical look.
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