February 22, 2011 at 08:58 PM
OSHA's internal union has raised legal concerns about the agency's proposal to rely heavily on the expertise of outside contractors in order to expedite development of workplace safety and health standards, possibly reigniting a controversy first sparked by a Bush administration move to mete out tasks to private companies instead of federal employees. Such actions “clearly violate” legislation sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and passed by Congress in 2007 that prohibits the contracting out of this kind of federal project as well as many others within the Department of Labor, the unio