OSHA recently announced that it had mailed out 14,000 letter to employers in Federal OSHA states informing them that their illness and injury rates were above average and suggesting that they may want to take steps to address these issues. As the letter says, "Last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) surveyed employers to identify the workplaces with the highest Days Away from work, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rates. Your establishment was one of those identified as having a DART rate higher than most other businesses in this country."

Businesses who received the letters had 6.5 (or more) serious injuries or illnesses per 100 full-time workers in 2003. The national average is 2.6.

Signed by Jonathan Snare, the Acting Assistant Secretary, the letter goes on to say, "OSHA recognizes that your elevated DART rate does not necessarily indicate a lack of interest in safety and health. Whatever the cause, a high rate is costly to your company in both personal and financial terms." The letter then lists steps which the employer may want to take to address these issues. Businesses who received the letters are not neccesarily targetted for inspections.

To us, this seems like a good way to draw the companies' attention to health and safety concerns, and it wouldn't be fair to say that the companies who received the letters have no regard for worker safety.

The 14,000 businesses who received the letters were listed in a database file which can be downloaded at: www.osha.gov/as/opa/foia/hot_11.html