OSHA virtual inspections during pandemic likely led to more workplace danger, says Labor Dept. internal watchdog

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s decision during the Covid-19 pandemic to conduct many inspections virtually — instead of onsite — risked worker safety, the U.S. Department of Labor’s inspector general concluded in an audit report released Tuesday," Sky Chadde reports for the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. "In addition to virtually inspecting workplaces, OSHA conducted far fewer inspections in general."

Though the report doesn't specifically mention OSHA inspections at meatpacking plants, which were Covid-19 hotspots in 2020, "the problems the report details have plagued the agency’s response to the industry," Chadde reports. "In January, USA Today and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting found that OSHA had not inspected 40% of the plants where at least one employee had died of Covid-19. The agency said it had conducted 10 virtual inspections of meatpacking plants after reports of deaths."

The report says that remote inspections may have helped avoid transmission of the coronavirus among inspectors, but the reduction in onsite inspections could trigger more accidents, injuries, deaths and/or employee illnesses at worksites. Chadde notes that personal protection equipment was available to OSHA employees who inspected meatpacking plants.