Luis Fortuno: “I am quite pleased to have the opportunity today to address my colleagues and argue all to support the four OSHA bills…”

“I am quite pleased to have the opportunity today to address my colleagues and argue all to support the four OSHA bills that are being discussed today. At this point I would like to particularly address the importance of H.R. 742. This bill narrows the target to a very specific goal, fairness. By permitting small employers to defend themselves against OSHA's superior litigation position when they believe that they are right, we are both creating consciousness about the values and needs of occupational security and health among employers and simultaneously promoting responsibility to our regulatory agency at the moment of acting. Reality is that many small businesses simply do not have the resources to compete against OSHA's team of legal experts and are forced to ``surrender'' just because of the economic burden that litigating a case will have on their company. It is not a matter of having a strange or poor case. It all comes down to the amount of time and money that litigating represents for them. We cannot allow our regulatory agencies such as OSHA to take advantage of their superior position and by doing so affect an important part of our national economy. I personally have been informed by the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce that the main frustration among small employers is the unfair advantage that OSHA has when pursuing litigation against a small company even when the case is without merit or on shaky legal ground. But, in fact, it is not news.…”