Department of Labor and OSHA get some unexpected love in President's FY 2010 budget

Among the many pleasant surprises in President Obama's budget for fiscal year 2010 is a $900 million increase to the Department of Labor's discretionary budget. The proposed 7.6% increase dwarfs the minuscule expansions of the Bush years, which barely kept pace with inflation, and aims to expand Unemployment Insurance and work-training programs, strengthen enforcement of labor standards for workplace safety and establish automatic pensions.

Though all the proposed changes deserve a look, for New York personal injury lawyers the stronger enforcement of workplace safety standards is of primary interest.

Just the other day, as mentioned in our review of NYCOSH's OSHA recommendations, all signs pointed to a steady level of funding for the embattled agency. Instead, a recently-introduced appropriations bill, unrelated to the FY 2010 budget, may give OSHA $513 million, a $27 million, 5.5% increase over its current funding.

Though the increase is not as major as what may be seen in next year's budget, the funds will certainly help. The agency sorely needs the cash: eight years of starvation under the Bush Administration have left it with a backlog of inspections that would take 133 years to clear. Adequate inspection and enforcement is essential to OSHA's responsibility to protect workers' safety, and the extra money will be quickly put to good use hiring new inspectors and updating outmoded safety standards.

While a shortened inspection queue and revamped standards are certainly positive changes, President Obama has even greater goals for OSHA. Looking ahead to the 2010 budget, the President has asked for funding to increase protection for whistle blowers and expand enforcement of safety standards even further.

OSHA has the potential to be one of the most powerful tools the government has to protect workers' safety. Now, for the first time since 1980, the agency may receive the funding it needs to perform its vital mission.