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The current national surveillance system for work-related injuries and illnesses may miss two-thirds of the total number of occupational injuries and illnesses, according to a study led by Michigan State University, East Lansing Professor Kenneth D.Rosenman and team in an article in the April Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
"Based on the results of our analysis we estimate that the number of work-related injuries and illnesses in Michigan is three times greater than the official estimate derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) annual survey," Dr. Rosenman and colleagues report. Whereas BLS statistics suggest that work-related injuries affect 1 in 15 Michigan workers per year, the new results suggest that the true rate is closer to 1 in 5.
Rosenman blamed the problem on several factors. First, the BLS system excludes government workers in the 26 states where public employees don't have OSHA coverage. In addition, BLS excludes the self employed and farms with fewer than 11 employees. With occupationally related diseases, employers may not know that employees have contracted occupational diseases years after they had left their employment.
One of the most significant reasons may be "the perception by employers of financial and regulatory disincentives for complete reporting." Herein may lie not only the main problem with reporting, but also the most dangerous effect of underreporting.
OSHA currently bases its inspection targeting on employer self-reporting. In other words, low number of injuries and illnesses mean a smaller chance of being inspected. The study's "perception" of regulatory disincentives for complete reporting is, therefore, more of a reality. While it is illegal for an employer to refuse to list a reported injury or illness, we have seen employers use a variety of means to discourage workers from reporting injuries and illnesses.
Behavioral and safety incentive programs that reward workers or groups of workers who don't report injuries is one way to use peer pressure to keep reporting down (if not actual injuries.) Disciplining "unsafe workers" who report injuries is another method used by employers to discourage workers from reporting injuries.
Source: Confined Space
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