DYING AT WORK: POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

Workplaces are safer and healthier for employees than they used to be, but they are still dangerous places. In 2011, 4,693 workers were killed on the job, 7.6 million to 11.4 million were injured, and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. The failure of the law to improve the protecti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wake Forest law review 2014-10, Vol.49 (3), p.831
Main Author: Shapiro, Sidney A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capitalism
Discourse analysis
Economic analysis
Occupational health
Occupational safety
Public policy
Reforms
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Workplaces are safer and healthier for employees than they used to be, but they are still dangerous places. In 2011, 4,693 workers were killed on the job, 7.6 million to 11.4 million were injured, and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. The failure of the law to improve the protection of employees can be attributed to a number of factors, including the impact of political discourse, which is the subject of this essay. The author's goal in this essay is to explain the relationship between policy analysis that relies on an economic methodology and a discourse favoring unregulated capitalism. Part I describes the relationship of political discourse and social reform. Part II briefly chronicles the historical relationship of political discourse and occupational safety and health reform in the US. Part III examines how economic analysis justifies the use of cost-benefit balancing to determine occupational safety and health policies. Finally, Part IV explains how economic analysis supports a market-oriented political discourse.
ISSN:0043-003X