Maryland lawmakers push stronger workplace safety protections after on-duty deaths

Yahoo

19-02-2025

BALTIMORE — Maryland legislators are seeking stronger workplace protections for public sector employees in the wake of several on-duty deaths across the state.
The Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act, named for the 33-year-old state parole and probation agent who was killed while conducting a home visit in May 2024, would create a dedicated public employees' safety and health unit within the Maryland Department of Labor, expand the existing Maryland Occupational Safety and Health program by establishing penalties for public bodies, and create standards for workplace violence prevention.
'At its fundamental core, this is about making sure that none of our public servants ever have to wonder whether they're coming back at night, and making sure that we've got accountability and plans in place to make sure that our public workers are working in safe and healthy environments,' Del. Jared Solomon, a Montgomery County Democrat, said at a House Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday.
Also known as House Bill 176 and Senate Bill 26, the legislation is sponsored by Solomon and Sen. Benjamin Kramer, a Montgomery County Democrat. Some aspects of the bill are still being tweaked, Solomon said.
Though the bill bears his name, Martinez is not the only public sector worker who died on the job last year. In August, Ronald Silver II, a Baltimore City Department of Public Works crew member, died of hyperthermia when temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees. And in November, Timothy Cartwell, a Baltimore DPW solid waste worker, died after becoming trapped while collecting garbage.
Rayneika Robinson, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, Local 3661, said she and others had warned their employer, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, of safety risks.
To Robinson, a fellow parole and probation agent, Martinez's death may have been preventable if DPSCS had 'proper plans, procedures and the necessary personal protective equipment to keep agents safe.'
The department was cited last week by the Maryland Department of Labor for dangerous work conditions following a review of Martinez's death. DPSCS has also been ordered to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention program to address potential violence by parolees.
Still, having more Occupational Safety and Health Administration coverage 'doesn't automatically make public employee workplaces safer,' said Jordan Barab, who served as a deputy assistant secretary of labor at OSHA under former President Barack Obama's administration.
'More must be done,' he said, adding that penalties 'serve to incentivize violators to comply with the law.'
Ahead of the bill hearing Tuesday, the Office of the Attorney General had raised concerns about potential conflicts that could come with the office representing state agencies that receive violations from the Department of Labor, which is also represented by the office, Solomon said. However, the changes legislators are making in the bill would not impact conflicts that already exist, he said.
Under current law, public bodies are exempt from existing MOSH penalties.
Del. Jeff Ghrist, a Republican who represents Kent, Queen Anne's, Cecil and Caroline counties, asked about the possibility of increased appeals stemming from the bill.
'I guess there's a possibility that there could be more appeals, but we know that agencies are already appealing,' Solomon replied.
In the 16 years Bill Chenowith has spent with the Howard County government as a safety officer, he said he's seen numerous instances of workplace conditions and practices that put employees in harm's way, including violent encounters with public employees increasing in frequency and intensity; requests to change safety reports, with refusal leading to a threat of being placed on probation; and reports documenting 'drastic' injuries being ripped up and thrown away.
'Public employees are asked every day to provide and perform crucial public services for Marylanders across the state, yet our safety does not feel though it is always valued when our public employers break the law and face no consequences for those actions,' he said.
Though the state initially had technical concerns with some aspects of the bill, Devki Virk, the commissioner of labor and industry for the Maryland Department of Labor, asked the committee for a favorable report with adoption of the amendments.
'Risk is a given in these jobs, but tragedy should not be,' she said. 'These outcomes are not inevitable and they are not acceptable in our state.'