"Jeb Bush And His Amen Chorus Of Goose-Stepping Legislators" have blood on their hands. Some Floridians remember how
Jeb Bush issued an executive order directing state agencies 'to [merely] voluntarily comply' with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act's standards, and leaving cities and counties to decide for themselves what they needed to do. But no state resources were devoted to ensuring compliance or guiding safety efforts.
It was undersood that
[t]he move was a wink and a nod toward protecting employees, and little more.Then in 2006 a tragic explosion of methanol occurred at a wastewater treatment plant in Daytona Beach.
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Put state back to work on job safety".
Today, "the memories [of that deadly explosion] still haunt the former Daytona Beach city employee [who survived]. Most of his body was burned that day by a cascade of flaming liquid."
The accident has also haunted federal investigators at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which this week took the rare step of classifying Florida's response as "unacceptable" — the first time it has ever branded an entire state and its Legislature with that designation.
"Its primary concern: The Legislature has failed for three straight years to fix a loophole in state law that essentially exempts cities and counties from following the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety guidelines that apply to private and federal employees."
The board wrote that such guidelines — including better training and managerial oversight — "would likely have prevented" the accident at the Bethune Point wastewater-treatment plant that killed Daytona Beach workers Clyde Jones and Eric Johnson and hospitalized Martin for about four months.
"We are compelled, in frustration, [to grade this] an unacceptable response," said board chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso, who signed the letter to Gov. Rick Scott. "This is kind of a last resort."
In the years since the board completed its 2007 inquiry, it repeatedly has called on Florida to address a lack of protection for city and county workers that has existed since the Legislature in 1999 rolled back workplace rules and abolished a state safety department.told state agencies they must [merely] "voluntarily comply" with federal safety standards. But city and county governments simply were asked to review their practices.
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Protections for Florida's city workers are 'unacceptable,' federal agency says".
Deregulation.