Texas workers have a right to expect that their employers will provide a safe workplace. While many jobs include some risk of injury, it is incumbent upon every employer to take all steps necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of the Texas workforce.

All too often employers fall short of fulfilling the duty they have to their workers. That is why we need strong legal protections for workers who are harmed on the job. According to the U.S. Labor Department, Texas is the deadliest state for construction workers, with 142 workers killed on the job in 2007 alone. In Austin, a recent study found that 64% of construction workers did not receive any OSHA basic health or safety training. BP was recently fined for failing to fix safety problems that were identified almost five years ago after a deadly explosion at its Texas City refinery resulted in the death of fifteen of its workers and the injury of dozens more. As you may have heard in the news, in 2007 an activist Texas Supreme Court made a controversial ruling in Entergy v. Summers that allows oil, chemical, manufacturing and construction companies to avoid legal responsibility if they fail to maintain a safe workplace. If the Entergy ruling had been on the books at the time of the BP disaster, the families devastated by the explosions would have been denied justice and the company would have escaped accountability.

The rights of workers need to be rescued from this special interest onslaught. Workers deserve to have strong accountability measures in place, and businesses must make safe workplaces a priority.

Looking for helpful tips and other resources on workers safety? Our brand-new Workplace Safety Tips page contains information meant to empower those affected by this issue.

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