US Labor Department’s OSHA, Wage and Hour Division enter alliance with NYS Workers’ Compensation Board to better protect workers

Participants: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Wage and Hour Division; the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

Description: The Memorandum of Understanding establishes a collaborative alliance relationship among OSHA, the Wage and Hour Division and the WCB to communicate more efficiently and effectively, and cooperate on areas of common interest. It will also promote New York employers’ compliance with the laws administered by each agency. Elements of the agreement include cross-training of agencies’ staffs, providing employers and employees with compliance assistance information, conducting joint investigations and sharing information where appropriate.

OSHA administers and enforces the Occupational Safety and Health Act and a multitude of whistleblower statutes and regulations to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working people. The division administers and enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, prevailing wage and other laws ensuring proper wages and working conditions for employees. The board administers and enforces state workers’ compensation laws to ensure the proper delivery of benefits to those who are injured or ill and promotes compliance with the law.

Duration: The alliance is for an initial three-year term.

Quotes: “Our agencies share a common purpose of helping ensure proper working conditions and benefits for workers in New York. Working together and sharing resources to achieve that common purpose makes sense,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Robert Kulick.

“We look forward to working with our partners. Our combined efforts will enhance our own resources and ensure increased compliance by employers throughout the state,” said Wage and Hour District Director Jay I. Rosenblum.