Small Business and Workplace Fatality Risk An Exploration Analysis, 2006

by Mendeloff, John; Nelson, Christopher; Ko, Kilkon; Haviland, Amelia

• ISBN13: 9780833039446
• ISBN10: 083303944X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-05-01
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

Over 55 percent of Americans are employed in businesses with fewer than 100 workers. Policymakers have taken action to lessen regulatory burden on small business. However, small establishments-single physical locations-have much higher rates of deaths or serious injuries than do larger establishments. This study examined the relationship between fatality rate and business size, both in terms of establishment size and firm size, from 1992 to 2001.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Figures	ix
Tables	xi
Summary	xiii
Acknowledgments	xxiii
Abbreviations	xxv
Introduction	1	(10)
Why Size Might Make a Difference	2	(4)
Employer Investments in Safety Might Reflect Costs and Benefits of Safety Measures	2	(1)
Costs and Benefits Might Be Related to Size	3	(3)
Previous Research on Size and Risk	6	(3)
Fatalities and Other Serious Injuries	6	(1)
Less-Serious Injuries	7	(1)
Accident Types and Size	8	(1)
Underreporting and Size	8	(1)
Focus of This Study	9	(1)
Organization of This Report	10	(1)
Data and Methods	11	(8)
Numerator Data	11	(3)
Denominator Data	14	(1)
Regression Analyses	15	(1)
Violation Data	16	(1)
Event-Type Data	17	(2)
Findings	19	(28)
Patterns in the Fatality Data from OSHA	19	(3)
The Relationship Between Fatality Rates and Establishment Size	22	(6)
Looking at More Detailed Categories of Small Establishments	23	(2)
Fatality Rates by Establishment Size in More Narrowly Defined Industries	25	(3)
The Relationship Between Fatality Rates, Firm Size, and Establishment Size	28	(8)
Controls for Other Factors	36	(5)
Causes of Fatalities in Establishments	37	(2)
OSHA Violations and Establishment Size	39	(2)
Size Distribution of Nonfatal Injury and Accident Rates	41	(1)
Tracking the Pattern of Fatality Rates by Establishment Size Over Time	42	(2)
Summary of Key Findings	44	(3)
Implications for Policy and Research	47	(26)
Policy Options	47	(3)
Limitations	49	(1)
Possible Policy Interventions	50	(3)
Inspections	50	(1)
Consultation Programs	50	(1)
Information Programs	51	(1)
Focusing on Mid-Sized Firms	52	(1)
Future Research	53	(2)
APPENDIXES
A. Comparison of OSHA IMIS and CFOI Data	55	(4)
B. Fatality Rates for All Industry Sectors	59	(4)
C. Discussion of the Poisson Regression Analysis	63	(6)
D. Selected California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Policies and Procedures	69	(2)
E. The Construction Sector	71	(2)
References	73