Occasionally, someone says something about safety I find noteworthy. Today, a State Plan state official criticizes federal OSHA’s recent investigation of the state agency.

First, a little background. Earlier this year, federal OSHA concluded an investigation into allegations against Indiana OSHA. In an April 11 response to federal OSHA, Indiana Department of Labor Commissioner Rick Ruble expressed concerns about how the federal agency conducted the investigation, which he described as “secret” and “sensitive.”

Ruble said federal investigators’ failure to disclose the nature of the allegations ran counter to the collaborative working relationship Indiana OSHA has with federal OSHA – a relationship federal OSHA has described with the term “family.”

What Ruble had to say about that:

“I can tell you several of the folks at Indiana OSHA don’t feel much like ‘family’ after the experience they had.”
– Rick Ruble, Indiana Department of Labor commissioner

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