Enote

On Jan. 11, 2006, three employees of the city of Daytona Beach were burned in a methanol tank fire. Two of them died; one was critically injured. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board investigated, and in March 2007 reported — to the apparent surprise of many — that public workers in Florida are not covered by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.

During the next legislative session (2008), the Florida Public Task Force on Workplace Safety was established to develop findings and issue recommendations on how the state can ensure that Florida government complies with OSHA standards. The governor, the president of the Senate, and the speaker of the House each appointed five members; Department of Management Services Secretary Linda South was named chair. The diverse team was a study in efficiency. Appointed Sept. 4, they held their first public meeting Oct. 17 and issued their final report Dec. 22, nine days before the official Jan. 1 deadline.

During public meetings and deliberations, the members addressed issues such as the differences in the workplace safety needs of private-sector employers and public-sector employers; the relationship between federal and state activities related to workplace safety; and the effect of public-sector workplace safety and health on the economic development efforts of the state.

In its research, the team gathered workers' compensation data for public employee lost-time cases, costs, permanent disability, and death, and compared those statistics to private-sector numbers. Some of the key findings:

In the period 2001-2007, local government consistently had a higher rate of lost-time cases per 1,000 employees than the private sector, and the private sector consistently had a higher rate than state government.

On average, the median cost of a public sector lost-time case was lower than a private sector case by 14.6 percent for years with mature data.

The cost to Florida's taxpayers for benefit costs for public sector lost-time cases was $185 million for 2005, down 34.1 percent after peaking at $280.6 million for 2001.

Beginning at 2.03 percent for 2000, public sector permanent total disability cases consistently declined to levels well below one percent for years with mature data.

The number of permanent total disability cases since 2000 for public-sector employees, excluding police and firefighters, fell 84.1 percent, from 182 to 29, while such cases involving police and firefighters diminished 61.1 percent, from 54 to 21.

Deaths among police and firefighters varied between 11 and 16 for years 2000-2005; the number increased to 19 for preliminary data representing 2007.

In its final report, the task force flatly stated, “No difference exists in the workplace safety needs of public and private employers or employees.” In concert with that statement, the panel's primary recommendation was for the passage of legislation requiring, “all cities, counties, municipalities, school districts, state agencies, and special districts to comply with OSHA CFR 1910 (general industry) and CFR 1926 (construction) standards within three years.”

Although all 15 task force members endorsed the report, they did not reach consensus on implementation of that primary recommendation. Five members said mandatory compliance would create an economic hardship for many cities and counties, and they recommended legislation merely “requesting” compliance.

Lawmakers are expected to respond to the task force's recommendations during the 2009 session. Hopefully, they will act favorably. As an employee of Palm Beach County said at one of the public hearings, “Almost 40 years after the OSHA act, it is certainly not too much to ask that the public-sector workers of Florida have similar protections.”