III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 486 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Workers’ Memorial Day, honoring workers 

who have been killed or injured in the workplace, and recognizing the 

importance of strengthening worker health and safety protections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2018 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. WARREN, and Ms. HASSAN) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Workers’ Memorial Day, 

honoring workers who have been killed or injured in 

the workplace, and recognizing the importance of 

strengthening worker health and safety protections. 

Whereas 5,190 workers were killed due to workplace-related 

injuries in the United States in 2016, and more than 

2,700,000 workers across the world die of workplace-related accidents and diseases each year; 

Whereas, each day, an average of 14 workers are killed due 

to workplace-related injuries in the United States; 

Whereas, annually, there are more than 3,500,000 occupational injuries and illnesses in the United States; 


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•SRES 486 IS 

Whereas, in the industries of health care and social assistance in the United States in 2016— 

(1) 585,000 incidents of nonfatal workplace-related 

injuries occurred; and 

(2) 70 percent of all nonfatal workplace-related assaults occurred; 

Whereas tens of thousands of individuals in the United 

States with workplace-related injuries or illnesses have 

become permanently disabled; 

Whereas the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(referred to in this preamble as ‘‘OSHA’’), the primary 

Federal agency that establishes and enforces workplace 

health and safety standards— 

(1) only has sufficient resources to inspect each establishment within the jurisdiction of OSHA once every 

159 years; and 

(2) must receive the resources necessary to adequately protect the health and safety of workers in the 

United States; 

Whereas the current Administration has— 

(1) blocked efforts by OSHA to adopt many protections for workers, including workers exposed to toxic 

chemicals, infectious diseases, violence in health care and 

social service settings, and the risk of industrial catastrophes caused by chemicals, explosive gases, or combustible dusts; 

(2) limited press releases from OSHA on enforcement actions that can act as a deterrent against safety 

violations by employers; and 

(3) removed the names of workers killed on the job 

from fatality reports issued by OSHA, despite the requests of family members of those workers to include the 


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•SRES 486 IS 

names of those workers to call attention to preventable 

workplace-related deaths; and 

Whereas observing Workers’ Memorial Day— 

(1) allows the people of the United States to honor 

and remember victims of workplace-related injuries and 

disease; and 

(2) reminds the people of the United States to strive 

for better safety and health protections for workers: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of Workers’ 

3 Memorial Day to honor and remember workers who 

4 have been killed or injured in the workplace; 

5 (2) recognizes the importance of strengthening 

6 worker health and safety standards to secure the 

7 safe workplaces workers deserve, including enforce8 able standards to prevent violence in health care and 

9 social service settings; 

10 (3) encourages the Occupational Safety and 

11 Health Administration, employers, community and 

12 worker organizations, professional associations, and 

13 academic institutions to support activities increasing 

14 awareness of the importance of preventing illness, 

15 injury, and death in the workplace; and 


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•SRES 486 IS 

1 (4) calls upon the people of the United States 

2 to observe Workers’ Memorial Day with appropriate 

3 ceremonies and respect. 

Æ 


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