Voluntary Program Stakeholders Largely Oppose Concept Of 'Graduating' Participants

Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) participants are largely against a concept floated within OSHA of “graduating” employers from the recognition program after a period of time, sources closely watching the issue say. The idea -- which opponents say creates a disincentive for employers to make the effort required to join VPP -- emerged from a comprehensive internal review of VPP that came up with a variety of suggestions to improve the program. An agency document indicates that employers came up with several other related ideas -- including charging a fee to participants who were in the progra