Introduction
As an illegal use of an individual’s power provided by an official position to gain benefits, corruption remains a highly disturbing problem that currently affects almost all spheres of people’s lives. It may take multiple forms, including bribery, extortion, protectionism, privatization and illegal resource distribution, illegal financing of public organizations and political parties, blackmail, fraud, and embezzlement. Every year, trillions of dollars are lost due to corruptive activities of both employees and contractors in multiple organizations, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It was created in 1970 to ensure healthful and safe working conditions for employees through the provision of training, education, outreach, and assistance. It aims to protect all employees in the United States by inspecting the conditions of their work to detect potential violations.
However, due to the nature of their jobs, OSHA officials are frequently exposed to situations when valuable items are offered to influence an inspection’s results. That is why the majority of corruption cases in OSHA are connected with bribery and extortion. In other words, the administration’s officials accept rewards from contractors who have violated the OSHA safety regulations or force them to pay to avoid more severe punishment. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine corruption and its two major forms, bribery and extortion, how corruption is presented in OSHA, and what response is currently provided.
Corruption: General Background
In the present day, corruption may be regarded as one of the most disturbing and pressing global problems that exist in all countries all over the world. It may be defined as employees’ use of power given by their official positions for mercenary illegal purposes and their benefits. Corruption leads to taking undue advantage and increases corrupt officials’ ability “to influence or cause harm to those not adhering to their requests” (“Bribery and corruption in business,” n.d., para. 54).
Corruption is regarded as prohibited and unfair actions in all spheres of people’s lives as it has a highly negative impact on the whole society. Taken place at work, corruption negatively affects the perception of an organization by its employees and customers and breaks public trust (“Bribery and corruption in business,” n.d.). Moreover, the revealed act of corruption inevitably leads to financial damage, limits business opportunities, and losses in profits and employees’ productivity.
Workplace corruption occurs at all levels devaluating a commonly held opinion that only individuals in senior positions are involved in corrupt practices. In fact, through corruption and one of its forms, bribery, in particular, trillions of dollars are lost every year, and half of these sums are perpetrated by contractors and employees (Callister, 2021). Even though the development of anti-corruption measures currently implies closer international cooperation, in multiple countries, economic crime levels are unprecedentedly high.
As previously mentioned, there are various forms of corruption, including bribery, extortion, illegal public resource distribution and privatization, protectionism, unreasonable provision of orders and loans, illegal financing of public organizations and political parties, embezzlement, blackmail, and fraud. Bribery is accepting or requesting (passive bribery) and offering (active bribery) any payment, loan, reward, advantage, or gift for personal gain Moreover, it is “an encouragement to do something dishonest, illegal or a breach of trust” (“Bribery and corruption in business,” n.d., para. 16). It differs from remuneration by underlying expectations to receive a favor in return. Thus, a gift presented by a grateful customer for a contractor’s high-quality work after its completion cannot be regarded as a bribe.
Another form of corruption that attracts particular attention is extortion. It may be defined as “obtaining property from another through the wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence or fear” and characterized by receiving the victim’s consent (“Extortion,” n.d.). The distinction between extortion and bribery based on the legislation is not straightforward and varies between jurisdictions. However, in the majority of cases, of extortion, the extorted party is threatened by the receiver that it will be harmed unless a certain action is performed to satisfy the receiver’s need (“Extortion,” n.d.). In turn, bribery presupposed the bribed party’s willing action in the briber’s interest.
Whatever the form of corruption is, there are the following major indicators that should be considered to detect illegal activities in the workplace:
- Questionable invoices. Suspicious over-inflated invoices submitted without supporting documentation and any work being done may conceal bribes that appear in expenses, extra fees, or charges (Callister, 2021).
- Incomplete travel expenses. In general, legitimate business expenditure should be supported by appropriate documentation. Travel expenses for trips that did not happen traditionally refer to corruption.
- Inappropriate or unnecessary purchases. Corrupt relationships between an employee and a supplier may be indicated by the former’s unnecessary purchases from the latter without any obvious business need (Callister, 2021).
- Conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest occur when a supplier and an employee are in close relationships with each other. Thus, an employee may have either economic or personal interests concerning a particular appointment or transaction. Along with cronyism and nepotism, it increases the risk of corruption in the workplace.
- Acceptance of poor quality. A considerable indicator of corruption is an employee’s continued acceptance of a contractor’s sub-standard services or goods.
- Incompetent and unqualified third parties. Suspicious unqualified third parties with a lack of resources or facilities and without a track record, however, highly recommended being contracted may indicate corrupted activities.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) belongs to the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress in 1970 based on the Occupational Safety and Health Act to ensure healthful and safe working conditions for employees through the provision of training, education, outreach, and assistance (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, n.d.).
In the United States, every employee is affected by the standards of OSHA as working in a non-hazardous and safe environment is a right of any person. That is why more than 130 million workers across the country are protected by OSHA (Zak, 2018). Its regulations increase safety, employee productivity, and overall profitability, reduce turnover, and protect from legal ramifications or lawsuits.
In addition, OSHA protects employees from unlawful retaliation based on their accurate performance which may be regarded as unpleasant for employers. To be precise, the administration “enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime and securities laws” (“OSHA orders Amtrak to reinstate, pay $892K to an employee discharged in violation of Federal Railroad Safety Act,” 2017, para. 8).
Thus, for employers, it is prohibited to dismiss workers who raise concerns against workplace safety or provide information concerning it to governmental authorities. According to OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program, employees may file a complaint for a further investigation if they believe that their retaliation was connected with their security awareness.
Corruption Within OSHA: Cases
Similar to other organizations, OSHA regularly faces corruptive activities among its employees as well. There are multiple cases of various forms of corruption that were identified in the administration. The majority of these cases are connected with bribery and extortion – the administration’s officials accepted rewards from contractors who had violated the OSHA safety regulations of forced them to pay to avoid more severe punishment. For instance, a district manager of OSHA’s division in California, the California Department of Industrial Relations, Richard Fazlollahi was arrested for bribery charges.
He reportedly “requested, and agreed to receive, a bribe from a construction company in exchange for reducing penalties the company was facing for workplace safety violations” (“Attorney General Becerra announces arrest and prosecution of a state employee in Orange County bribery case,” 2018, para. 1). Fazlollahi reduced the company’s citations in exchange for concrete work at his residence.
In 2019, fraudulent training cards were sold to carpenters by Mark Dropala, a certified OSHA training agent. “OSHA 10” training program was created for construction workers to provide essential knowledge and skills related to occupational safety standards (Department of Justice, 2019). The course was dedicated to safety regulations for scaffolding construction electrical equipment as well as to preventing emergencies in the workplace. Authorized through OSHA’s Training Organization and certified by the administration’s Outreach Training Program (OTP), Dropala was responsible for issuing OSHA 10 cards that confirmed that their holders “had taken and passed a 10-hour OTP training course” (Department of Justice, 2019, para. 5).
However, he has submitted false reports and sold more than one hundred false cards for almost $200 per one (Department of Justice, 2019). Dropala was sentenced by Trenton federal court to a $250,000 fine and five years of imprisonment.
The act of extortion was recorded when an OSHA compliance safety and health officer, Alvaro Idrovo, together with his brother, Paul Idrovo, forced a North Bergen contractor to pay a $6,000 bribe (Heinis, 2020). The company had reportedly misused an extension ladder at its worksite. Idrovo informed the contractor about the violation of OSHA regulation and the absence of safety training certificates which he proposed to purchase for $13,000 in cash (Heinis, 2020). Although the contractor has managed to negotiate the payment down to $6,000, the brothers forced him to purchase certificated threatening exorbitant fines and arrest. Subsequently, certificates that falsely stated that a North Bergen contractor had been certified were issued.
In 2002, Mario Martin Solano Jr., an OSHA area assistant director in Texas, sent employers who wanted to reduce their fines established by the administration to his co-defendant’s company for employee training. Jose Campos, the owner of this company, paid approximately $30,000 to Mario Martin Solano Jr. for referrals (Cable, 2006). For the acceptance of bribes, Solano was sentenced to five years in prison.
At the same time, not only for the representatives of OSHA but for employers as well, corruptive activities are a criminal offense. In 1994, Protech Construction Company’s owner, Kazimierz Chmielewski, was cited by the administration for several violations of workplace safety. Penalties of $35,000 and $4,500 for the willful and additional violations respectively were proposed by OSHA (“Criminal prosecutions of workplace fatalities,” n.d.). In turn, Chmielewski offered $1,000 to OSHA officials twice as a bribe to avoid paying willful violation charges (“Criminal prosecutions of workplace fatalities,” n.d.). He was sentenced to six-month home confinement and six-month imprisonment.
Impact of Corruption on Workplace Safety
In general, it is not necessary to work in a dangerous environment to face workplace safety concerns. The most common hazards that may affect workers’ health and safety include communicable disease, workplace violence, transportation accidents, toxic events, slipping and falling, particularly gas and chemical exposure, ergonomic and motion injuries, explosion or electrocution, and hearing loss (Spiro, 2010). Although workers in particular spheres are more vulnerable to potential hazards in comparison with others, it is essential to evaluate all possible risks to protect people. Any workplace accident leads to serious problems with employees’ well-being and financial losses. Safety laws are enforced by OSHA that aim to protect workers.
Corruption has multiple highly negative impacts on the government, organizations, and society in general. It contributes to economic losses, social inequality, and poverty leads to people’s intimidation, inconvenience, personal losses, failures in infrastructure, public and private sector dysfunctionality, and partial justice and impunity (“Effects of corruption,” n.d.).
Corruption rises to illiberal populism, diminishes state capacity, and violates human rights. As previously mentioned, the acts of corruption in OSHA are primarily connected with contractors’ intentions to avoid fines or act based on false certifications being aware that they violate safety regulations. As a result, OSHA officials involved in corruptive activities contribute to the occurrence of workplace hazards that may lead to workers’ injuries and even death.
Response and Its Critique
Any form of corruption is defined as a criminal offense; it is liable to legal prosecution. As Attorney General Becerra stated “Individuals abusing their positions in government for personal gain violate the trust of the people …The Department of Justice stands vigilant and will vigorously prosecute abuse and corruption at every opportunity” (“Attorney General Becerra announces arrest and prosecution of a state employee in Orange County bribery case,” 2018, para. 2).
Similar to other governmental authorities, OSHA has zero tolerance for corruption though admitting that the nature of inspectors’ jobs frequently exposes them to situations when valuable items are offered to influence an inspection’s results. According to its Administrative Directive related to bribing offers to employees that aims to state the administration’s position concerning this issue, “any OSHA employee who solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept a bribe of any kind is subject to immediate dismissal and criminal prosecution” (“Bribe offers to OSHA employees,” n.d., para. 4). In addition, any attempt to offer a bribe should be immediately reported by the official.
In general, corruptive activities presuppose severe punishment that includes criminal fines, imprisonment, injunctions, disgorgement of profits, forfeiture of assets, and suspension from having business relationships with the government. According to the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a violation implies five years’ imprisonment and criminal fines of up to $100,000 per illegal act (Lovells, 2018). At the same time, under record-keeping and accounting provisions, an individual involved in corruption may face up to $5 million of criminal fines and twenty years’ imprisonment (Lovells, 2018). Companies may be cited as well if their involvement in corruption is proved.
From a personal perspective, this response to corruption may be regarded as reasonable – serious fines and imprisonment are fair towards corrupt officials and contractors taking into consideration the potential impact of corruption on workers’ health and lives. At the same time, a considerable number of employees will think about receiving bribes or continue doing it supposing that their activities are easy to hide. This indicates the necessity of more strong preventative measures to reduce corruption and challenge offenders’ belief in their impunity.
Conclusion
To conclude, corruption in any of its forms is a serious criminal offense that, at the same time, is presented in all spheres of society affecting governmental authorities, companies, and ordinary people. In a considerable number of organizations, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), both employees and contractors are involved in corruptive activities.
The aim of OSHA is the protection of all workers in the United States and the provision of workplace safety through training, education, outreach, and assistance. In general, the regulations of OSHA are highly beneficial for employees and competent and honest employers as they increase safety, employee productivity, and overall profitability, reduce turnover, and protect from legal ramifications or lawsuits.
However, due to the nature of their jobs which presupposes investigation and the imposition of penalty, OSHA officials are frequently exposed to situations when rewards are offered to influence an inspection’s results. That is why the case of corruption may be observed in OSHA as well, and the majority of them are connected with bribery and extortion. The administration’s officials accept bribes from contractors who have violated the OSHA safety regulations and wanted to avoid punishment or force them to pay to threaten with more severe fines and arrest.
At the same time, OSHA has zero tolerance for corruption and any employee involved in illegal activities is subject to criminal prosecution and immediate dismissal. In general, penalties are regulated by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and violation implies criminal fines and imprisonment. At the same time, although responsive measures may be regarded as reasonable, preventative strategies require thorough examination and development as a considerable number of offenders continue receiving bribes knowing that their actions will remain hidden.
References
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Bribe offers to OSHA employees. (n.d.). United States Department of Labor. Web.
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Callister, L. (2021). 6 red flags for workplace bribery & corruption. Skillcast. Web.
Criminal prosecutions of workplace fatalities. (n.d.). Web.
Department of Justice. (2019). Training agent admits selling false OSHA training cards. The United States Attorney’s Office. District of New Jersey. Web.
Effects of corruption. (n.d.). Web.
Extortion. (n.d.). Web.
Heinis, J. (2020). OSHA official, brother, caught on recording after soliciting bribe from North Bergen contractor. Hudson County View. Web.
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). About OSHA. United States Department of Labor. Web.
OSHA orders Amtrak to reinstate, pay $892K to employee discharged in violation of Federal Railroad Safety Act. (2017). United States Department of Labor. Web.
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