top of page

ON THE ISSUES

Workplace Safety - Luke Farley’s Three Point Plan

Everyone deserves to go home at the end of the workday. As Labor Commissioner, my #1 priority will be keeping our working men and women safe and healthy on the job.  I have a three-point plan to improve worker safety in North Carolina:
 
1. Fill open inspector jobs. Twenty-five percent of all workplace safety inspector positions are unfilled right now. It’s difficult for the NC Department of Labor to protect workers if the department isn’t fully staffed. I support pay raises for safety inspectors of at least 10% across the board to attract and retain the best talent in order to protect the rights of North Carolina’s workers.

2. Cut wait times for education programs. One of the best tools available to improve worker safety is a voluntary safety inspection. These visits allow safety inspectors to identify potential hazards and give employers a chance to fix problems before accidents occur. But the average wait time for a voluntary safety visit is 95 days. We must cut that wait time in half, to no more than 45 days.

3. Expand recognition programs. While fines and citations deter bad behavior, positive recognition encourages good behavior. When employers and employees go above and beyond to create a safe workplace, they deserve to be recognized. Unfortunately, the department’s recognition programs can only accommodate a small fraction of the workplaces in North Carolina. We must expand the program to encourage more positive reinforcement.

To learn more about Luke Farley's plan to improve workplace safety, please check out his recent op-ed in the The (Raleigh) News & Observer here.

Workforce Development

A four-year college degree is not the only path to success. That's why I’ll continue to support vocational/technical education and apprenticeship programs that build the future of our state and address the skilled labor shortage. The NC Labor Commissioner is a member of the board of community colleges. As Labor Commissioner, I’ll serve as a link between the community colleges and our job creators to make sure our workers are learning the skills they need to advance their careers and grow their prosperity.

Right-to-Work

No one should be forced to join a union to keep their job. As Labor Commissioner, I’ll fight to keep North Carolina a right-to-work state. Employees should decide for themselves whether or not to join a union. This approach respects the employee’s individual freedom and fosters a competitive business environment, which in turn helps attract more and better paying jobs to our state.

Medical Freedom for N.C. Workers

No one should be required to take an experimental COVID vaccine just to go to work.  As Labor Commissioner, I’ll stand up for workers’ medical freedom by enforcing the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) against employers who fire or otherwise discriminate against employees for refusing to get the COVID shot.

While employment-at-will and the free-market system are the ideal, that ideal has been totally upended by the federal PREP Act which creates broad immunity from liability for vaccine manufacturers and employers who impose COVID vaccine mandates on their workers. The PREP Act shifts all the risk of the COVID vaccine onto workers. If workers have lost their basic legal rights because of a federal statute, then we must protect them under state law. As Labor Commissioner, I’ll do just that.

Biden's Heat Stress Regulation

We must protect workers from extreme heat. But what’s the best way to do it? This burdensome new regulation from Washington will kill jobs and drive up the price of housing and food. As Labor Commissioner, I will fight this one-size-fits-all federal mandate and instead propose an alternative streamlined regulation that’s focused on North Carolina’s workers, climate, and industries. We need a North Carolina solution for a North Carolina problem. Read more about the proposed regulation here and read my op-ed here.

Elevator Accountability

North Carolinians deserve to feel safe and confident whenever they ride an elevator. As Labor Commissioner, I’lll restore accountability by keeping the commissioner's picture on N.C. elevator certificates. I wouldn’t put my name, signature, or picture on a certificate unless I was willing to stand behind the work of the department.

bottom of page