OSHA lets employers underreport workers' injuries, official says (whistle blower)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/934951.html

Kerry Hall and Ames Alexander, The Charlotte Observer
Bob Whitmore is doing what few career government employees dare -- publicly criticizing his own agency.

Whitmore, chief of record-keeping requirements for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said OSHA is allowing employers to vastly underreport the number of injuries and illnesses their workers suffer.


Bob Whitmore, recordkeeping chief of OSHA, is on leave.
Special to the Charlotte Observer by Colby Ware


The true rate for some industries -- including poultry processors -- is likely two to three times what government numbers suggest, he said.

Whitmore is not authorized to speak for the government and is risking his job simply by talking to the Charlotte Observer, he said.

"I want to hold people accountable that are abusing workers," he said. "It's as simple as that."

OSHA officials say they look for underreporting but rarely find it.

FULL story at link.