Secretary Solis Seeks $573 Million for OSHA in FY2011

WASHINGTON – OSHA has requested a budget of $573 million for fiscal 2011, a $14.5 million increase over the agency’s 2010 budget, to let OSHA add 60 investigators and enforcement staff members in 2011, for a total enforcement staff of 1,752 people.

The budget would continue to make construction a targeted industry, with an estimated 23,189 nationwide inspections planned for 2011, compared with 23,935 in 2009. The agency set a goal of reducing by 2 percent the 571 annual construction fatalities caused by falls, electrocutions and workers being struck by or caught between objects. 

The OSHA budget also would continue 2010’s emphasis on drafting new rules. The agency between 2000 and 2008 cut its budgets for developing new rules, but in 2010 added 20 staff members. The 2011 list of regulatory priorities includes new standards for cranes and derricks and for dealing with combustible dust, such as coal dust, at work sites.

The OSHA budget is part of a $117 billion budget request released Monday by Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis with a vision of "good jobs for everyone," even workers in other countries.

The request includes an additional $22 million to help strengthen worker rights and protections in America's trading partner countries.

"The FY 2011 budget will help to make the vision of good jobs for everyone a reality for America's workers. This budget invests in innovation and reform that will play a critically important role in building long-term economic security for workers," said Secretary Solis. "At the same time, the budget reflects our commitment to fiscal responsibility, investing in what works and carefully evaluating our programs to make sure that we obtain results that produce good jobs."

With the majority to be used for unemployment insurance benefits for displaced workers and federal workers' compensation, the department's discretionary request of $14.0 billion overall includes $1.7 billion for worker protection programs, a four percent increase over the prior year's budget.

Under this budget, the department expects to hire more than 350 new employees, including 177 investigators and other enforcement staff, many of whom will be bilingual to better communicate with employees in the changing workplace.

The 2011 budget builds on the 2010 budget policy of returning worker protection programs to FY 2001 staffing levels, after years of decline. For example, the FY 2011 budget asks for $573 million for the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is $14 million more than that agency received in FY 2010.

Also, the department's Wage and Hour Division will receive $244 million, an increase of almost $20 million from the prior year, including funding to hire 90 new investigators. With these increases, the Labor Department's worker protection agencies will be able to vigorously protect wages and working conditions of 135 million workers in more than 7.3 million workplaces.

When employees are misclassified as "independent contractors," they are deprived of benefits and protections to which they are legally entitled. For example, independent contractors do not receive overtime and are ineligible to receive unemployment benefits. The FY 2011 budget includes an additional $25 million for a Misclassification Initiative to target misclassification with 100 additional enforcement personnel and competitive grants to boost states' incentives and capacity to address this problem. (This $25 million includes the nearly $20 million increase for the Wage and Hour Division discussed above.)

For employment and training programs, the budget provides $11.8 billion, including new investments in innovation. A Workforce Innovation Fund will be created by reserving $108 million from the Workforce Investment Act's Adult and Dislocated Worker streams. With these funds, the department will pursue "learn and earn" strategies such as apprenticeships and on-the-job training, promote collaborations among regions and industries, and support other innovations.

The budget also creates a $154 million Youth Innovation Fund, which will pilot innovative models for delivering summer and year-round work experiences and comprehensive services to disconnected youth. Another $120 million is requested for the YouthBuild program to expand capacity to 230 locations, enrolling nearly 7,500 youth in green construction projects that produce industry-recognized credentials.
  
The budget requests $39 million for the Office of Disability Employment Policy to increase the workforce participation of people with disabilities through innovative partnerships that break down employment barriers and better serve people with disabilities in the workforce system.

For veterans, the budget provides $262 million for veterans programs, including an additional $5 million to allow the department to reach more homeless veterans, particularly women veterans, and a $1 million increase to expand access to employment workshops for spouses and families of service members transitioning to the civilian workforce.

The budget also provides $50 million for a department-wide evaluation. The additional funding will support demonstration projects coupled with rigorous evaluations to determine which programs and interventions work best, the results of which will inform the department's policy, management and resource allocation decisions.

For more information on the president's 2011 budget for the Department of Labor, visit http://www.dol.gov/budget.