Labor Department Searching For Mine Safety Reforms

According to Labor Department officials, new employee safety guidelines can play a role in preventing mine disasters like the one that claimed the lives of 38 workers in West Virginia in early April.

“We are working hard to identify the reform pieces that are necessary to assure the nation’s miners that they can actually go to work everyday, come home every night, and do that for a lifetime through a mining career and retire at the end of the day healthy,” said Joseph Main, the Assistant Labor Secretary for Mine Safety and Health, during a panel discussion on labor rules at the Center for American Progress. (0:19)
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New Guidelines Will Give Employers Additional Responsibility Over Workers' Safety, Says Labor Official

Deputy Labor Secretary Seth Harris said that the Department is focusing on a new initiative titled “Plan, Prevent, Protect,” which requires employers to take more responsibility to ensure employee’s are safe at work.

“’Plan, Prevent, Protect’ aims to change the calculus, so that employers and other entities regulated by the Labor Department will take responsibility for employment law compliance,” Harris said. (0:09)
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Neglecting Safety Guidelines Harms American Workers, Says Labor Official

Deputy Labor Secretary Seth Harris says during a panel discussion at the Center for American Progress Thursday that the American worker pays the price of an employer's non-compliance to labor rules. (0:13)
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