Legislation recently introduced in Maryland is aimed at making public-sector workers safer.
Introduced in both houses of the state Legislature on Jan. 8, the Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act (H.B. 176 and S.B. 26) would direct the commissioner of labor and industry to appoint an assistant commissioner for public employee safety and health, as well as establish a public employee safety and health unit in the Division of Labor and Industry.
The bills, sponsored by Del. Jared Solomon (D-Rockville) and Sen. Ben Kramer (D-Rockville) are named in honor of a 33-year-old state probation and parole officer who was killed during a regularly scheduled home visit on May 31.
The legislation would also direct:
- Maryland Occupational Safety and Health to establish a workplace violence prevention standard for the public sector and hold public employers accountable for worker safety.
- The assistant commissioner to publish an annual report on safety and health in public bodies.
- A newly formed public employees’ unit to routinely inspect public workplaces, including fieldwork locations.
On Jan. 13, members of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Local 3661, of which Martinez was a member, had a candlelight vigil to honor their colleague’s memory and intensify efforts to strengthen public service worker safety.
In a statement, AFSCME said Local 3661 members made at least six attempts to resolve safety concerns with management at the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Division of Parole and Probation for a year before Martinez’s death.
“Enough is enough,” Local 3661 President Rayneika Robinson said. “We deserve safe staffing levels, policies that will ensure we are prepared for the risks we may face and the tools needed to do our jobs safely.”
If signed into law, the legislation would go into effect Oct. 1.
