Employer-Sponsored Workplace Safety Study No Excuse for Continued Lack of OSHA Plan for PA Public Sector Workers

(April 28, 2025) A recent study on Pennsylvania’s workplace safety requirements completed by the Office of Administration (OA) found that six select Commonwealth agencies "had relatively lower injury rates compared to employees of OSHA-covered private sector employers during the 2022 calendar year." The study also found that policies from the six agencies "pointed to the Commonwealth’s written guidelines and standards appearing to be above and beyond the current OSHA regulations."

The study focused on six of the Commonwealth’s 72 agencies, which were chosen by the OA because they accounted for 94.3% of the work-related injury claims. The document does not explicitly list the names of these six agencies. Instead, it provides data grouped by industry sectors using North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, such as Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities, Other Residential Care Facilities, Correctional Institutions, Highway, Street and Bridge Construction, and Nursing Care Facilities.

AFSCME Council 13 commends the extensive work that went into this study and is grateful for any reduction in workplace injuries, as well as employer-sponsored guidelines and standards that may contribute to improved worker safety.

However, this study is no excuse for the continued lack of a state Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plan for Pennsylvania’s public sector employees – a disparity that continues to degrade and threaten the well-being of hundreds of thousands of workers.

According to the AFL-CIO’s report “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect,” in 2023, state and local public sector employers reported a combined injury rate of 4.3 per 100 workers, 89.2% higher than the reported rate of 2.4 per 100 workers in the private sector.

Furthermore, the findings of the OA’s study pale in comparison to the reality on the ground – and in work zones – in Pennsylvania. As we recently recognized National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week (April 21-25), and today we recognize Workers’ Memorial Day (April 28), we remember our sisters and brothers who have been injured and killed on the job, including those in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

Consider this: on the same highway using the same equipment, if a private contractor and a PennDOT worker are injured on the job, the private contractor is covered by OSHA and the PennDOT worker is not.

Just last August, PennDOT Diesel and Construction Equipment Mechanic and AFSCME Local 2128 member Rodney “Craig” Walker passed away due to complications from an injury sustained on the job. He became the 91st name on the PennDOT Worker Memorial list.

No one wants to see anymore names added to that list, and while accidents happen, AFSCME Council 13 believes more can be done to make public sector workplaces safer. The biggest step toward that goal that we can make right now is passing and enacting a state OSHA plan for Pennsylvania. House Bill 308, which would bring OSHA protections to public sector employees across Pennsylvania, was recently passed in the House of Representatives. We now call on State Senators to get it passed and on Governor Shapiro’s desk for signature.

State Plans are OSHA-approved workplace safety and health programs operated by individual states or U.S. territories. There are currently 22 State Plans covering both private sector and state and local government workers, and seven State Plans covering only state and local government workers. State Plans are monitored by OSHA and must be at least as effective as OSHA in protecting workers and in preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.

This issue goes beyond transportation workers. Council 13 also represents workers in healthcare and corrections, among other hazardous jobs, who deserve equal protection on the job. The OA’s study was conducted in partnership with Millersville University where in 2017, longtime groundskeeper and AFSCME Local 2421 member at Millersville University Michael Keefer passed away after the riding lawnmower he was operating caught fire. Anything can happen in any line of work, and that’s why AFSCME Council 13 continues its decades-long push for public sector OSHA.

Workplace safety is a right and should not be exclusive to one group of workers over another. Every Pennsylvanian should have the right to safe and healthy working conditions, including our public service workers, and the OA’s report does not change that. Council 13 will continue its efforts to enact public sector OSHA in Pennsylvania.

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