A sweeping measure to strip state worker protections to the federal minimum is headed to the governor's desk for a signature.
House Bill 398 would rollback or shift a number of protections currently in place for Kentucky workers — Gov. Andy Beshear said it would void at least 16 Kentucky-specific regulations. For example, it would strip the state’s requirement for worker fall protections at heights 10 feet and up. Federal standards only require them at 30 feet, stripping the state of jurisdiction beneath that threshold.
What supporters have labeled the latest attempt to make Kentucky a more friendly environment for business, Democratic Sen. Reginald Thomas from Lexington called a “a race to the bottom” of worker safety.
“I kind of like feeling safe when I come to work here every day,” Thomas said. “I want that for every worker, I don't care what they do, whether they're in the mines or whether Senate chambers or wherever they are. But yet, I'm seeing again that we want to go as low as possible and provide as little as possible to the people of Kentucky when they come to work.”
Thomas referenced another bill, passed the previous day, which would lower the number of mine emergency technicians required when two or fewer miners are on shift. He said it was evidence that the legislature was uninterested in ensuring Kentucky workers are protected.
A couple Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the legislation. It passed 28-9 in the Senate and the House concurred with the bill’s changes Thursday, sending it to the governor’s desk.
Republican Sen. Craig Richardson of Hopkinsville said on the floor the bill brings state laws “in line” with federal regulations.
“This bill is not an overhaul of regulations,” Richardson said. “It just allows those regulations to be in line with the federal regulations.”
The legislation now heads to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who has the power to either sign, veto or allow the bill to become law without his signature. Beshear said Thursday “people should have concerns” with the bill. He said some of the regulations lawmakers are eliminating were created to deal with specific incidents in Kentucky history, and make sure they never happen again.
“This idea that we want to cede authority to regulators in Washington D.C. is the exact opposite of what we’re hearing from the party in Washington D.C.,” Beshear said. “Why don’t we trust Kentuckians to protect Kentuckians.”
At a special committee hearing late Wednesday night, senators heard a committee substitute on the bill. The committee heard no public comment. That includes Labor Secretary Jamie Link, who signed up to speak to the committee on the bill. He expressed grave concerns via a letter to senators as he did not have the opportunity to publicly testify. Chambers Armstrong read his letter aloud on the floor.
“Kentucky's workforce and its employees would lose protections and guidance in areas such as high voltage electrical lines, bulk hazardous liquid unloading and employee exposures to hazardous materials — protections currently not covered by federal regulations,” Link stated in his letter.
The substitute presented Wednesday and passed Thursday removed some elements of the original bill that passed the House. For example, it removed the bill’s initial requirement that employee representatives be “qualified.” It also removed the bill’s previous requisite that only current employees can ask for an inspection of their workplace when imminent danger is suspected.
Rep. Jason Nemes, a Republican from Middletown, presented the committee substitute and called it a “compromise from both sides.”
“This bill just shows our commitment to the business community while not jeopardizing the safety of our great employees,” Nemes said.
A Kentucky State AFL-CIO spokesperson said the labor union, which previously spoke in opposition to the bill, is no longer formally opposed to the legislation, but said the organization still has concerns related to it on workers’ safety.
Nemes’ father, GOP Sen. Michael Nemes, argued with his son over the implications of the legislation. The elder Nemes said the legislation ceded the state’s right to create its own regulations on worker safety.
He said the hearing late Wednesday did not constitute a “robust discussion” — a concern echoed by the several concerned parties who signed up to testify on the bill, but were apparently denied the ability. On the Senate floor, Sen. Nemes renewed his concerns and voted against HB 398.
“I just think this is a bill not needed and doesn't really doesn't do anything that we want,” Nemes said.
This story has been updated to include the latest legislative vote.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
