COLUMBUS - The following statement can be attributed in part or in whole to Representative Ross McGregor (R- Springfield) on the subject of Governor Strickland's line item veto of the Drug-Free Workplace program from the budget of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (House Bill 15):
"The Drug-Free Workplace program has proven beneficial to Ohio's businesses, and more importantly to its workers. For Governor Strickland to veto a program that promotes a culture of safety in the workplace, helping to reduce the overall costs that the bureau pays out each year as a result of workplace injuries, is an insult to employers and workers throughout the state.
The governor stated in his own veto message that the BWC funds ‘...support a system that is critical in protecting injured workers and employers from loss resulting from workplace accidents.' But he doesn't see the importance in preserving a proven drug abuse awareness program? The elimination of this program could increase workplace accidents caused by drug abuse, there by threatening workers' safety and driving up the cost of business in Ohio.
With the state of manufacturing declining rapidly in today's economic environment, I believe it is short sighted to discontinue an incentive to keep workplace safety as the top concern of businesses and the bureau. By vetoing this provision of the BWC budget, the governor is continuing to drive a wedge between the business community and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation."
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