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Small Businesses and Workplace Fatality Risk: an Exploratory Analysis THE ARTS This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as a public CHILD POLICY service of the RAND Corporation. CIVIL JUSTICE EDUCATION Jump down to document ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT 6 HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research NATIONAL SECURITY POPULATION AND AGING organization providing objective analysis and effective PUBLIC SAFETY solutions that address the challenges facing the public SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY and private sectors around the world. 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Reports may include research findings on a specific topic that is limited in scope; present discus- sions of the methodology employed in research; provide literature reviews, survey instruments, modeling exercises, guidelines for practitioners and research profes- sionals, and supporting documentation; or deliver preliminary findings. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for re- search quality and objectivity. Small Businesses and Workplace Fatality Risk An Exploratory Analysis John Mendeloff, Christopher Nelson, Kilkon Ko, Amelia Haviland Supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation The research described in this report was conducted within the RAND Institute for Civil Justice under the auspices of the Kauffman-RAND Center for the Study of Regulation and Small Business. This research was supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Small businesses and workplace fatality risk : an exploratory analysis / John Mendeloff ... [et al.]. p. cm.—(TR ; 371) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3944-X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Industrial accidents. 2. Occupational mortality. 3. Small business. 4. Industrial safety. I. Mendeloff, John. II. Series: Technical report (Rand Corporation) ; 371. HD7262.S59 2006 363.11—dc22 2006009575 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2006 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2006 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2612 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] The RAND Institute for Civil Justice is an independent research program within the RAND Corporation. The mission of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ), a division of the RAND Corporation, is to improve private and public decisionmaking on civil legal issues by supplying policymakers and the public with the results of objective, empirically based, analytic research. ICJ facilitates change in the civil justice system by analyzing trends and outcomes, identifying and evaluating policy options, and bringing together representatives of different interests to debate alternative solutions to policy problems. ICJ builds on a long tradition of RAND research characterized by an interdisciplinary, empirical approach to public policy issues and rigorous standards of quality, objectivity, and independence. ICJ research is supported by pooled grants from corporations, trade and professional asso- ciations, and individuals; by government grants and contracts; and by private foundations. The Institute disseminates its work widely to the legal, business, and research communities, and to the general public. In accordance with RAND policy, all Institute research products are sub- ject to peer review before publication. ICJ publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the research sponsors or of the ICJ Board of Overseers. The Kauffman-RAND Center for the Study of Regulation and Small Business, which is housed within the RAND Institute for Civil Justice, is dedicated to assessing and improving legal and regulatory policymaking as it relates to small businesses and entrepreneur- ship in a wide range of settings, including corporate governance, employment law, consumer law, securities regulation, and business ethics. The center’s work is supported by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Information about the RAND Institute for Civil Justice is available online (http://www. rand.org/icj). Inquiries about research projects should be sent to the following address: Robert T. Reville, Director RAND Institute for Civil Justice 1776 Main Street P.O. Box 2138 Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 310-393-0411 x6786; fax 310-451-6979 [email protected] Information about the Kauffman-RAND Center for the Study of Regulation and Small Business is available online (http://www.rand.org/icj/centers/small_business). Inquiries about research projects should be sent to the following address: Susan Gates, Director Kauffman-RAND Center for the Study of Regulation and Small Business 1776 Main Street P.O. Box 2138 Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 310-393-0411 x7452; fax 310-451-6979 [email protected] iii Preface A range of federal policies seeks to reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses. The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA) and its predecessor, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, for example, seek to increase the weight given to small- business concerns in the regulatory rulemaking and enforcement processes. Similarly, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) exempts workplaces with fewer than 11 workers from regular “programmed” inspections, considers firm size when assessing penal- ties, and runs a consultation program for firms with fewer than 500 workers. While previous research suggests that small establishments (work sites) have much higher rates of deaths or serious injuries than larger establishments have, we know little about injury and fatality rates at small firms (companies). To shed light on these issues, this study examined the relationship between fatality rate, i.e., the number of deaths per 100,000 workers, and business size, both in terms of establishment size and firm size, for the period from 1992 to 2001. By providing a more complete picture of risks found at both smaller establishments and smaller firms, the research should help inform effective policies toward small businesses. The research should be of interest to policymakers at both the state and federal levels as well as businesses and others interested in accident prevention and compensation issues. The work was completed under the auspices of the Kauffman-RAND Center for the Study of Regulation and Small Business and was funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. v Contents Preface ............................................................................................................ v Figures ........................................................................................................... ix Tables ............................................................................................................ xi Summary .......................................................................................................xiii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................... xxiii Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xxv CHAPTER ONE Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Why Size Might Make a Difference ........................................................................... 2 Employer Investments in Safety Might Reflect Costs and Benefits of Safety Measures .............. 2 Costs and Benefits Might Be Related to Size............................................................... 3 Previous Research on Size and Risk ........................................................................... 6 Fatalities and Other Serious Injuries ........................................................................ 6 Less-Serious Injuries ........................................................................................... 7 Accident Types and Size....................................................................................... 8 Underreporting and Size .....................................................................................
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