I am trying to help a friend get word out on this issue as he stands
to lose his business and many good people stand to lose there jobs
because OSHA just does not understand how Internet commerce works and
why LEAD Generation or Reselling is OK! These resellers just help
people find approved OSHA online training courses they then get paid by
the provider similar how a sales rep would make a commission. Please
read the article below and pass it around if you think you know someone
who could help our cause. If anyone has suggestions on what could be
done, please comment would be much appreciated!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
OSHA Says They Don’t Kill Jobs; Here’s Proof To The Contrary
From WebSite:http://www.oshatraining.com
Dr. David Michaels, head of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), once famously defended his agency’s issuance of
new OSHA safety regulations by stating: “OSHA is not working to kill
jobs; we're here to stop jobs from killing workers.” However,
unilateral decisions recently made by OSHA, a federal agency housed
under the U.S. Department of Labor, seem to run counter to the
job-killing portion of that philosophy, and it has nothing to do with
the issuance of workplace safety regulations.
As you probably know, OSHA developed and has administered a very
successful OSHA Outreach Training Program for several years, resulting
in millions of workers receiving valuable training on OSHA regulations
and hazard avoidance, much of it provided by self-employed individuals
and gainfully employed OSHA-authorized Outreach trainers working for
safety consulting firms. And for the last several years, these OSHA
Outreach courses have been available for students to take online too.
Love them or hate them, the online Outreach courses are here to stay, as
OSHA recently announced the continued acceptance of these courses.
However, OSHA suddenly decided to restrict how these online courses are
made available to the general public.
Word has leaked out of a closed-door meeting that OSHA will no longer
allow the online Outreach courses to be offered by “resellers” on their
websites as of April 1st; the courses will only be allowed to be sold
on the internet directly by those select few companies and organizations
that OSHA recently approved as online providers. It has also been
revealed that OSHA intends to restrict the use of the generic term
“osha” in the URL of websites of firms selling online Outreach courses.
Furthermore, OSHA will allow no safety consultant (nor anyone else for
that matter) to make a profit by placing any button or ad that links
back to an online course provider’s website.
When these new policies takes effect, the hundreds of safety
consulting companies who have offered links to these courses on their
websites for years and receive a commission will instantly be restrained
from supplementing their income with online course sales. To many “mom
and pop” consultants, this extra income is often the difference between
staying in business and shutting their doors. So these policy changes
will no doubt put a few of them out of business and their employees on
the street. And the many workers employed as website developers,
marketing reps, and sales and service agents for companies acting as
resellers or advertisers for these courses will soon be getting pink
slips too. Not exactly a job-friendly scenario.
There was no explanation given by OSHA for their sudden change of
heart. I can only speculate that OSHA is possibly concerned about
unethical marketing practices by some resellers (a big problem in the
past that seems to have been all but wiped out). Or perhaps they do not
have the resources to monitor the resellers. And as for the restriction
of the URL’s, maybe OSHA thinks some poor soul could mistake a website
with “osha” in the URL for the federal OSHA website. But these issues
are easily addressed without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
OSHA could develop and publish mandatory policies for resellers on
the OSHA website, just like they have done for the live Outreach
trainers, and hold the resellers or course providers accountable for
meeting the rules. Or they could turn the delivery and administration of
the online Outreach Training course over to a self-funded, non-profit
organization made up of the Online Outreach Training providers, similar
to how the OTI’s run their Outreach programs in various areas of the
country, and then hold them accountable for enforcing any necessary
rules or guidelines.
As for the restriction on URL’s, take it from someone who once owned
over 100 websites with “osha” appearing somewhere in the URL; I have
received hundreds of calls and emails over the years from people looking
for assistance because they could not locate the telephone number of
their local OSHA Area Office on the federal OSHA website, but not once
has someone called me thinking I was OSHA. But if OSHA is truly
concerned that a private website might be mistaken for their own, I’m
sure the owners of those “offending” sites would be more than willing to
place a disclaimer on their websites.
I would encourage the powers to be at OSHA to rethink their
decisions, hold discussions in an open forum that incorporates input
from affected individuals (just like when a proposed OSHA standard is
issued), then work out solutions that preserve these jobs instead of
throwing people out of work. And for all of you OSHA-authorized trainers
who conduct live 10 and 30-hour training classes and are not affected
by these changes to the online programs (and who may even loathe the
online courses), you should be concerned too. For it could be just a
matter of time before OSHA makes similar changes that affect your
ability to market and offer live on-site Outreach classes directly to
your customers.
In the interest of full disclosure; I used to be a major reseller of
the online OSHA Outreach courses. But I sold off all my websites that
offered online courses over a year ago, so I no longer make a profit
from selling online OSHA Outreach courses. I do have links on one of my
new websites to online Outreach courses offered through a buddy’s
website, but I receive absolutely no compensation for any sales of their
courses. Nor do I speak for the online training industry; my opinions
are my own. And, no, I am not an OSHA-hater either; I actually have a
general appreciation for many employees of the agency who perform what
is often considered to be a thankless job.
But even though these changes do not affect me directly, I do feel
compelled to act as an advocate for the many businesses and individuals
that will see their livelihoods negatively affected by these unnecessary
infringements on their ability to make a living.
In closing, I’d like to share a quote about the purpose of
Government, attributed to the late, great President Ronald Reagan, which
I read in an editorial written by Rep. Tim Walberg (R – MI), that
recently appeared in the Washington Examiner:
"It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather, to
make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride
on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother
it; foster productivity, not stifle it."
Readers: If you agree with this philosophy, and feel these changes to
the Outreach Training program are detrimental to the economic
well-being of American workers and businesses, and/or that OSHA should
focus on regulating workplace safety instead of the internet, contact
Dr. Michaels [http://www.osha.gov/as/index.html] or his boss Silvia
Solis [talktosolis@dol.gov], head of the U.S. Dept. of Labor (ironic,
huh?), and let them know what you think. Better yet, share your concerns
with your Senator, Congressman, or even President Obama
[http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml], as they all profess to be
focused on preserving jobs instead of eliminating them. And especially
to you safety professionals who offer Outreach training courses (live or
online), you’d better speak out now if you are at all concerned,
because the job you save may eventually be your own.
