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By Doug Cunningham

A lawsuit by the AFL-CIO has forced the Bush administration to agree to issue an OSHA rule making it clear that employers must pay for personal safety equipment for workers. Doug Cunningham reports:

Peg Seminario is Director of Occupational Safety and Health for the AFL-CIO, she says for years employers resisted paying for safety equipment required under OSHA regulations after a court decided the rule was unclear. But now under threat of the lawsuit the Bush administration will issue a new rule in November making it clear employers must pay for the workers’ safety equipment.

[Seminario] : “It is unfortunate that it took a lawsuit and all these years for this action to be agreed to. But the fact of the matter is when you look at the history of safety and health that improvements in worker safety and health have only come as a result of the struggles of workers, action by their unions, and unfortunately in many, many cases the result of workers being killed and injured on the job.”

Seminario says the AFL-CIO will make sure the Bush administration keeps its promise on this safety equipment rule.

[Seminario 2] : “We clearly will be monitoring this and holding the Bush administration’s feet to the fire to do the right thing, to issue a strong rule and put it into effect immediately.”