Safety, OSHA, and Preserving Jobs

Saturday, May 24, 2003 | 0

Employees need to be aware that there are safety regulations applicable to many industries, and violations of those safety regulations may be cause for additional compensation under most state workers' compensation systems. In California, the value of benefits may be increased by 50% if there is a finding that the employer intentionally caused an injury, or acted with such willful disregard to safety that an injury would be highly probable (also known as "serious and willful misconduct").

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has as its mission the prevention of injuries or deaths, and protection of worker health. OSHA has promulgated safety standards for many industries, and most of these standards are mandatory, as opposed to advisory. When a standard is mandatory, a violation of that standard may serve as the basis for an increase in benefits if the injury was the product of the violation.

But, why wait for an injury to occur? Injury prevention is not the sole responsibility of the employer - while negligence is not a factor in the application of benefits it is a factor in the prevention of injury. An employee that has knowledge of a condition that is hazardous, or threatens the safety of workers, is valuable to the employer because a worker out on comp costs money, bottom line. The worst that could happen by giving your employer notice of a potential safety hazard is that the employer has been provided notice of a condition that, if left uncorrected, may become the basis for an increase in benefits for serious and willful misconduct (see Labor Code section 4553 for application in California).

In general OSHA safety standards cover storage of hazardous materials, fire protection (which includes sprinklers, emergency exits and emergency plans), protective equipment such as safety glasses and clothing, first aid and medical treatment where injuries are likely to occur, and equipment performance and maintenance.

If you have knowledge of an unsafe working situation, or feel threatened by a particular work element, there are procedures that you should follow. First, let your supervisor know of the hazard that concerns you, and if your supervisor doesn't respond promptly, put your concerns in writing.

"If the employee, with no reasonable alternative, refuses in good faith to expose himself to the dangerous condition, he would be protected against subsequent discrimination. The condition causing the employee's apprehension of death or injury must be of such a nature that a reasonable person, under the circumstances then confronting the employee, would conclude that there is a real danger of death or serious injury and that there is insufficient time, due to the urgency of the situation, to eliminate the danger through resort to regular statutory enforcement channels. In addition, in such circumstances, the employee, where possible, must also have sought from his employer, and been unable to obtain, a correction of the dangerous condition." [38 FR 2681, Jan. 29, 1973 as amended at 38 FR 4577, Feb. 16, 1973]

Failure to correct the hazard will expose the employer to OSHA penalties, regardless of whether an injury occurs. However, if the safety hazard remains, a complaint with the local OSHA office will typically result in an investigation.

Often there are also local and state government agencies that may have jurisdiction - for example, building construction violations or hazardous wastes typically will also be covered by local, or municipal agencies.

Most employers welcome input "from the field" nowadays due to large increases in workers' compensation premiums. Safety is the single most effective way for an employer to reduce workers' compensation expenditures, and remains a primary focus of most construction and industrial concerns. You can help preserve your job, stay out of the comp system, and prevent injuries to others by cooperating with your employer and reporting conditions that may require your employer's attention.