This is common sense legislation. It’s amazing it hasn’t happened before.” This was how New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller characterized Intro 313-A at a news conference on the steps of City Hall, right before the bill passed on Aug. 12.

The City Council unanimously voted to pass the bill, which requires city agencies to keep track of public employee workplace injuries and illnesses. “This bill mandates that the city tell us where the accidents occur and who they are happening to,” DC 37 Safety and Health Director Lee Clarke explained at the press conference. “This way, we can go in and reduce the accidents, so the city saves money.” Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the bill within the next 30 days.

While agencies are required to record all Workers’ Compensation claims, the unions and public health advocates have been unable to obtain this data. The new legislation requires an annual report that compiles the injury and illness data from agencies along with information on Workers’ Compensation expenses and compensation. The first annual report is to be issued in January 2005.

Speaking on behalf of DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, DC 37 Treasurer Maf Misbah Uddin pointed out that workplace accidents cost the city millions of dollars. “At DC 37, we found out how costly these accidents were when we presented the first of a series of studies designed to show the city where money could be saved in our ‘White Papers,’ more than two years ago.”