The Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C., the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor. (Official Department of Labor photograph)

WASHINGTON — Leading Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and its Workforce Protection Subcommittee demanded answers on Tuesday from Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su regarding allegations that certain state Occupational Safety and Health Administration agencies possibly misused federal funds and gave advance notice to employers of workplace safety inspections.

The letter from the respective ranking members of the committee and subcommittee — Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia and Alma Adams of North Carolina — came in response to recent news reports over allegations surrounding the state OSHA agencies and employers in California and South Carolina.

“Workers deserve to be protected, not exploited,” Scott and Adams said in a statement Tuesday.

“If these allegations are true, it means that our federal funds, meant to ensure safe and fair workplaces, might be enabling exactly the opposite,” the two said, adding that it’s “crucial that we get to the bottom of this and hold those responsible accountable.”

Scott and Adams highlighted a February report from Cal Matters documenting allegations that staff from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health might be tipping off employers about when inspections are going to occur.

Debra Lee, chief of the state agency who was acting chief at the time of the report, expressed concerns about these allegations and wanted the agency to be informed in order to take appropriate action, according to Cal Matters.

The lawmakers also underscored a series of reports from the New York Times on migrant children working dangerous jobs upon coming to the United States, including a story that sheds light on the dangers for those in roofing — a job that is illegal under the age of 18.

Scott and Adams pointed to the Times’ interview with a crew boss who reportedly “admitted violations of not only federal child labor rules but also OSHA standards that are notionally enforced by South Carolina’s state plan agency.”

The two called this account “particularly alarming,” writing in their letter that “if the employer in this news account is to be believed, this story raises questions not only about South Carolina’s compliance with the OSH Act’s requirements for state plan enforcement but also about the possibility of federal funds being used to help employers evade detection for child labor trafficking and oppressive child labor violations.”

Holly Beeson, counsel to the Office of Communications and Governmental Affairs at the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, told States Newsroom that “whenever a hazard or lack of compliance with an OSHA standard is reported, SC OSHA vets the complaint to determine whether an inspection should follow.”

“Both state and federal law prohibit prior notification of this inspection to an employer, and SC OSHA strictly adheres to this legal mandate,” Beeson said.

Worker safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration — part of the Department of Labor — was created through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The agency is tasked with ensuring that workers have “safe and healthful working conditions free from unlawful retaliation.”

Several states, including California and South Carolina, have their own OSHA-approved state plan.

As the agency notes, “OSHA covers most private sector employers and workers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the other United States (U.S.) jurisdictions — either directly through OSHA or through an OSHA-approved State Plan.”

Scott and Adams are asking for a response from the Department of Labor by Sept. 20 regarding questions such as how they would address any allegations of unlawful advance notice of inspections and challenges facing the department when trying to monitor and enforce state plans’ compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication on Tuesday.