Washington – As the threat of across-the-board budget cuts looms, the White House has warned that OSHA inspectors would be pulled off the job and the agency would conduct about 1,200 fewer inspections.

Known as sequestration, the cuts would “leave workers unprotected and could lead to an increase in worker fatality and injury rates,” the White House said in a Feb. 8 statement.

The sequester would reduce OSHA’s budget by about 8.2 percent and force budget cuts on every other area of government. It was created as an incentive for lawmakers to reach a deficit-reduction deal. Failure to do so would automatically trigger the cuts on March 1.

At press time, no deal to avoid the sequester had been reached.