Kentucky legislators passed a law in 2021 that stopped Kentucky Occupational Safety and Healthy Program, or OSH, and the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet from adopting any new regulations that are more strict than federal minimums.
Now GOP Rep. Walker Thomas from Hopkinsville, who sponsored the 2021 bill, is back to block enforcement of any regulations created before 2021 designed to protect the health and safety of Kentucky workers beyond the federal minimums.
That would eliminate state-specific regulations protecting those working on high voltage electrical lines, unloading bulk hazardous liquids and exposed to hazardous materials, according to a letter from Cabinet Secretary Jamie Link.
Advocates who came to the committee to oppose the bill said it would weaken the state's ability to protect workers from unsafe conditions, but Thomas said it balances worker protections while encouraging economic growth. It passed a committee vote Thursday.
“It's very confusing for businesses that might have multiple businesses in different states, and so we're just trying to make it uniform where they can look at one set of regulations and know what the law is,” Thomas said.
That’s become a common complaint of worker protection laws and regulations in Kentucky. Last year, two bills would have rolled back state laws dealing with child labor protections and for adult workers, like lunch or rest breaks and seventh day overtime. Then-Rep. Phillip Pratt, who did not run for reelection last year, used the same justification for the bills, neither of which ended up passing into law.
The legislation does more than halt the enforcement of state-specific safety regulations; it would also allow Franklin County Circuit Court to award court costs and lawyer fees against OSH if an employer appeals a citation. The bill contains no caps for possible monetary awards, which Secretary Link described as creating “substantial financial exposure” for taxpayers.
Representatives with the AFL-CIO union and the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council spoke in opposition to the bill. Dustin Reinstedler, president of the Kentucky branch of the AFL-CIO, called it a “direct assault” on Kentucky workers.
“This bill is not just simply a technicality,” Reinstedler said. “It weakens the state's ability to protect workers from unsafe conditions. It reduces accountability for employers. It removes essential rights to report retaliation, and it shifts the balance of power in favor of employers at the expense of the people who show up to work every day to do the work that powers the states.”
Kate Shanks, vice president of public affairs for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, sat at the table with Thomas as he presented his bill. In response to lawmaker questions, she did not name any specific business or industry adversely affected by Kentucky’s safety regulations, calling it a “broad-based business issue.”
“In this case, we do have that structured program at the federal level that can be protective of Kentuckians,” Shanks said. “We don't want unsafe workplaces. If there are laws and regulations on the books to protect workers, businesses should follow those.”
The bill also puts new limitations on OSH inspections. It limits an employee’s right to file a discrimination complaint to 30 days and requires OSH issue a finding within six months. In his letter, Link said that doesn’t recognize the stall tactics that employers could exert. Link said six months is already OSH’s policy, but requiring it by statute does not allow for especially complex cases.
The legislation would also only allow a current employee or “qualified representative,” which is defined as something with specialized knowledge or technical expertise, to request a safety inspection. Gerald Adkins, who testified on behalf of the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council, said that provision could prevent parents, spouses or next of kin from requesting an inspection in cases of death or serious injury.
“It is important that we protect workers. We shouldn't be passing laws that make them more vulnerable,” Adkins said.
Jason Bailey, with the left-leaning Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, told Kentucky Public Radio he is concerned the bill will have far more wide-reaching implications, including endangering approval of the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration plan. He said if the state is unable to effectively operate its plan and enforce federal standards, then the federal government would have to take over.
“A state plan has to be at least as effective as the federal law according to that law, and what this would do is tie the hands of the state in their ability to enforce those laws, likely leading to the elimination of the state plan,” Bailey said.
Shanks dismissed those concerns during the hearing, saying the bill only attempts to pull the state in line with federal standards, not below them.
A few state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concern over the bill in the Thursday committee hearing. Two GOP representatives gave a tentative “yes” in committee, but said they may change it on the House floor. Rep. Scott Sharp, a Republican from Ashland, passed on voting for or against the bill in committee. Sharp said he’d already gotten “a lot of pushback” from his district.
Rep. Al Gentry, the House Democratic caucus chair from Louisville, said he didn’t understand why the state would pass laws to relinquish the state’s right to go beyond federal minimums. Gentry himself was injured in a workplace accident before joining the General Assembly where he lost his arm.
“I think our men and women workers are the backbone of every business, because they are the ones that produce and deliver the products and services these businesses sell,” Gentry said as he cast his “no” vote.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
