A coalition of 30 of Arizona businesses has written a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor, opposing a decision by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that rescinds the approval of a state plan for workplace safety.
According to Chamber Business news, the group wrote to the Labor Department after OSHA took steps to revoke the approval of Arizona’s workplace health and safety plan, arguing that the state had a “history of shortcomings,” such as missed deadlines to adopt safety standards or proof of compliance.
The business coalition responded by asking OSHA to “cease any actions that threaten Arizona’s state plan status.”
“Any intrusion into Arizona by OSHA would jeopardize the system Arizona has worked diligently to cultivate and would be detrimental to Arizona’s employees, employers and economy,” the coalition wrote in its letter.
The coalition also noted that “Arizona has operated a highly effective occupational safety and health program for nearly 50 years, a program that we view as equally if not more effective than most federally operated states.”
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey called the Labor Department’s effort to rescind state mandates a “political stunt and desperate power grab.”
The business group further stated its concern about potential federal overreach in state affairs.
"Collectively, our organizations represent hundreds of thousands of hardworking Arizonans and business owners across multiple industry sectors," the letter said. "We are greatly concerned about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent proposal to reconsider and revoke the Arizona state plan and revert to federal enforcement."
The letter pointed out that the state’s fatal injury rate of 3.1% is far less than the federal rate or the rate in OSHA-operated states.
"We strongly urge the U.S. Department of Labor to cease this imprudent approach and instead take steps to collaborate with Arizona to strengthen its long-standing and successful occupational safety and health program," the businesses stated in the letter.