Wyoming: Senate nixes bill to increase penalties for safety violations

The Wyoming Senate voted down legislation to increase penalties for employers who violate health and safety regulations.

The legislation was spawned from a task force Gov. Dave Freudenthal assembled last year to address workplace fatalities. Earlier this year, he sent a letter to lawmakers urging the enactment of stronger workplace safety regulations. According to the letter, Wyoming's rate of 17 fatalities per every 100,000 employees in 2007 was four times the national average.

It was the second safety-related bill voted down in recent weeks. During the state of the state address in February, Freudenthal said the task force also recommended addressing transportation-related fatalities, which accounted for about half the state's annual workplace fatalities. The governor pointed to data that indicated as many as 50 percent of accidents involved people who do not wear their seat belts going to and from the workplace.

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However, the bill to increase fines for not wearing a seat belt was nixed in the House.

Read more at the WORKERSCOMP Forum^TM homepage.

April 1, 2010

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