"In 'Watch out for the new OSHA,' Mr. Koons no doubt brings a great deal of workplace safety experience to his column. However, the article is badly tainted by his anti-OSHA bias..."

In “Watch out for the new OSHA,” Mr. Koons no doubt brings a great deal of workplace safety experience to his column. However, the article is badly tainted by his anti-OSHA bias. Snarky phrases like "tak[ing] hard-earned money out of the pockets of companies" and "the House is looking at increasing our prison populations" eclipse the value of the column's factual content. His characterization of non-compliant employers ("these aren't evil people who don't care about their employees...they are hardworking entrepreneurs who just want their businesses to succeed") misses the point, intentionally or otherwise. It isn't a matter of good versus evil; it's a matter of responsibility versus negligence, and too often employers lose sight of the former when they focus too hard on the bottom line.

As the owner of a small professional land surveying firm, I'm interested in information about changes in workplace safety trends and requirements. However, I can do without the sort of overt bias Mr. Koons presents in his column.

-- Jim Frame, California


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