Safety representatives from ten labor unions have written OSHA chief John Henshaw expressing concerns with OSHA's recently announced Nursing Home National Emphasis Program (NEP).

OSHA is setting the bar too low for meaningful inspections, argue the unions. The first action inspectors take after entering the workplace is to recalculate the 2000 lost workday rate to make sure the employer calculated correctly. If the rate is below 8, then they calculate the 2001 rate. If both are below 8, only a records inspection is done.