Report Says Indiana OSHA Needs to Improve

Federal investigators say Indiana’s workplace safety agency mishandled complaints, put its inspectors under strict time constraints and didn’t help whistleblowers.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in a report released Wednesday made 22 recommendations for improvement at the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports Regional OSHA Administrator Nick Walters, in a Feb. 25 letter to the state agency, noted it had made some changes but needed to make more. Walters asked IOSHA Commissioner Rick Ruble to respond within 30 days.

OSHA’s report said Indiana appeared negligent in not inspecting an Indianapolis Power & Light plant after a March 2013 dust explosion. An IOSHA compliance officer told superiors it represented a potential “imminent danger.”

A message seeking comment was left with an IOSHA spokesman.