Work-Related Injuries Underreported

The New York Times reports that research by the Government Accountability Office (G.A.O.), the auditing arm of Congress, has discovered many employers do not report workplace injuries and illnesses for fear of increasing their workers’ compensation costs or hurting their chances of winning contracts. Workers also do not report job-related injuries because they feared being fired or disciplined and worried that their co-workers might lose rewards, like bonuses or steak dinners, as part of safety-based incentive programs. “The widespread underreporting so clearly documented in this report is undermining the health and safety of American workers,” said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “If we don’t know the full extent of the workplace hazards workers face, we cannot fully address these risks.” The G.A.O. report drew on interviews and surveys of workers and safety auditors.