There are fewer workplace safety inspectors under the Trump administration, according to new data obtained by NBC News.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) lost 40 inspectors through attrition since Trump took office, information the outlet received through a Freedom of Information Act request shows, and vacancies remained unfilled as of last Oct. 2.
The decline accounts for 4 percent of OSHA’s total federal inspection force, which was under 1,000 in early October, the report said.
Tasked with assuring health and safety of American workers, OSHA relies on its workplace inspectors to find safety violations and flag hazardous working conditions.
The Labor Department told NBC News that OSHA has hired “several additional inspectors” and is currently recruiting over two dozen more.
President Trump vowed “tremendous cutting” of the government during the campaign and is making an effort to fulfill that promise.
By the end of last September, there were 16,000 fewer permanent federal workers than there were at the end of 2016, NBC reported, citing data from the Office of Personnel Management.
The Washington Post reported last month that the number of workers in every Cabinet agency has fallen under Trump with the exception of the departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Interior.