Protecting New Workers

New at the job  

If you are new at your job, your risk of injury is much greater than for your more experienced coworkers-. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that 40% of workers injured had been on the job less than one year.  

Why are new workers more likely to be hurt?  

BLS studies show that employees injured at work often lack one vital tool to protect themselves: information. Look at the following data gathered by BLS in various surveys: 

• Of 724 workers hurt while using scaffolds, 27% said they received no information on safety requirements for installing the kind of scaffold on which they were injured. 

• Of 868 workers who suffered head injuries, 71% said they had no instruction concerning hard hats. 

• Of 554 workers hurt while servicing equipment, 61% said they were not informed about lockout procedures.  

In nearly every type of injury, BLS researchers have studied; the same story is repeated repeatedly. Workers often do not receive the safety information they need - even on jobs involving dangerous equipment where training is clearly essential. In one BLS study of workers injured while operating power saws, nearly one of every five said no safety training on the equipment had been provided. 

This problem deserves immediate attention from both the federal and private sectors. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) want to work with workers, employers, and vocational schools to increase protections for new employees. 

Employees Can't Be Penalized For Reporting A Hazard

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, it is against the law for your employer to punish you for reporting a safety or health hazard. You cannot be discriminated against, fired, demoted, or otherwise penalized for complaining to your employer about a hazard, requesting an OSHA inspection, participating in union safety and health activities, or otherwise exercising your rights under the OSHA Act. 

If you believe you have been illegally punished, you must file your complaint with OSHA within 30 days for it to be timely. OSHA can take action, including going to court if necessary, to force your employer to restore your job, earnings, and benefits. You will not have to pay any legal fees. Recent court cases awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay to employees who charged employers with firing after blowing the whistle. OSHA is very serious about this rule.  

Health Hazards Can Cause Imminent Danger 

Many people think that only safety hazards, which could cause accidents, can be considered imminent dangers. 

It is important to remember that health hazards can cause imminent dangers. Exposure to some toxic substances or dangerous fumes, dusts, or gases can cause irreversible physical harm, shortened life, or reduced physical or mental performance. OSHA may consider such hazards to be imminent dangers even if the health effects of exposure to these hazards do not become immediately apparent. 

Imminent Danger 2.12.1 Employees Can Report Imminent Danger to OSHA

If a health or safety hazard at your workplace puts you in imminent danger of death or a serious injury including situations immediately dangerous to life and health, tell your supervisor immediately.

Ask that the condition be corrected and that no workers be exposed to the danger until it is eliminated or controlled. If your employer does not take steps to remove the danger, you may contact the nearest office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or your state occupational safety and health authority. OSHA should be listed under "US. Government, Department of Labor" in your telephone directory. If you live in one of the 25 states or territories which operate their own OSHA programs, you will find the listing under a state government heading such as "Department of Labor" or "Department of Industry."

Tell OSHA the facts. Be specific. Identify the hazard, which concerns you. If you request, OSHA will not reveal your name to your employer, so don't hesitate to give OSHA your name, address, and a telephone number where you can be contacted.

OSHA Responds with Inspection

The director of the closest OSHA area office will review your complaint and immediately decide whether OSHA should make an investigation. If he or she decides that an investigation is necessary, an OSHA inspector or "compliance officer" will conduct an inspection of your workplace--usually the same day you report the problem. Reports of imminent dangers receive the highest priority for OSHA inspections.

If OSHA cannot inspect within one working day after receipt of the report, the area director will contact the employer immediately to request that the hazard be corrected and any affected employees removed from the danger area. An inspection to determine whether the imminent danger has been eliminated will then be conducted at a later time.

Imminent Danger Warning

During an inspection, if compliance officers find an imminent danger, they will ask your employer to correct the hazardous condition and remove endangered employees from the area. If your employer refuses, OSHA may post an "Imminent danger" notice and may seek from the nearest federal district court for an order requiring the employer to remove the danger. Before the OSHA inspectors leave the workplace, they will inform all affected employees of the hazard.

Refusing Dangerous Work 

OSHA can protect you if you are discharged or otherwise disciplined for refusing to perform a task that would expose you to imminent danger of death or serious injury, providing you have sought and been unable to obtain a remedy from your supervisor and there is insufficient time to have the condition corrected through filing a complaint with OSHA. You may also be protected by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) if you refuse dangerous work in cooperation with or on behalf of other workers. OSHA and the NLRB cooperate in refusal-to-work cases involving health or safety hazards. You may contact either agency to discuss your case if you have been punished for refusing dangerous work. 

Where to Apply for Variances from OSHA Standards

If the worksites for which variances are sought are under federal OSHA's jurisdiction, applications should be addressed to the Assistant Secretary and sent to OSHA's Office of Variance Determination, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210 (phone: 202/219-7193). The following states are under federal OSHA's jurisdiction: Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Wake Island, West Virginia and Wisconsin. 

If the worksites are in a state or territory with its own approved job safety and health program, variance applications should be made directly to the state OSHA office, usually located in the state department of labor. The following jurisdictions have their own OSHA programs, and are called "state plan states." Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut*, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York*, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. 

Employers with establishments in more than one state may seek multi-state variances. Even if one or more of these states has its own OSHA-approved state safety and health plan, the employer may consolidate the variance applications, address them to the Assistant Secretary and mail them to the Office of Variance Determination. OSHA's variance procedures permit employers with multi-state establishments to use federal OSHA's variance reciprocity procedures where such requests involve state plan standards (or portions thereof), which are identical in substance and requirements to federal standards. Such applications must include:

 (a) A side-by-side comparison of the federal standard and the state standards (or portions thereof) that are identical in substance and requirements; 

(b) A certification that the employer has not filed for such variance on the same material facts for the same employment or place of employment with any state authority having jurisdiction under an approved OSHA plan; and, 

(c) A statement, with appropriate identification and current status, of any citations for violations of the state standard that have been issued to the employer by any of the state authorities enforcing the standard under a plan. 

Upon receipt of a multi-state variance application meeting all requirements, federal OSHA promptly furnishes copies to appropriate state plan states and provides opportunity for comment, including opportunity to participate as a party to the consideration. As parties to the federal variance proceedings, state plan states review applications and reach judgments on establishments in their states in coordination with federal OSHA. Federal OSHA will ensure that each state plan state involved in a multi-state variance request has responded in writing, and the response will be made a part of the variance record. If an individual state concurs in the variance, the approval is reflected in the federal decision on all establishments. If a state objects, it negotiates independently with the employer to resolve any questions. If major differences result, a state may handle that aspect of the variance request under its jurisdiction independent of the multi-state application. 

Once a federal OSHA variance has been granted which applies to more than one state (including a state operating under a state plan), the variance becomes the authoritative interpretation of the employer's compliance obligations. This is true for the federal standard as well as any identical state standard, except where objections have been interposed by state authorities. 

Will OSHA Inspect a Small Business?

Yes, while in the past OSHA was understaffed and under funded, it posed only minimum danger to small businesses. Now, with the Democratic administration, an activist OSHA chief, William Reich and a tough director, John Dear, and new legislative proposals, OSHA inspectors can turn up at your site more often.  

Why are they Picking on Small Business?  

Whether you have just 2 employees or 250, OSHA believes that statistically, more injuries will occur in small businesses than in large ones. This conclusion is supported by a recent Wall Street Journal computer analysis of more than 500,000 federal and state safety inspection records, from 1988 to 1992 shows that 4,337 workers died at inspected workplaces with fewer than 20 employees, while only 127 died at those with more than 2,500.⁵ Of course, the study fails to correct for the fact that there are fewer workplaces in this country left with 2500 employees or more. The study did not report this figure as a percentage of total employees for small vs. large businesses. The fact is that as the economy has changed, so has the American workplace, with fewer manufacturing jobs and more service jobs and small businesses, the regulators are turning to small business to enforce safety.

What are the chances?  

Statistically, OSHA claims they have 2300 inspectors federally and that there are 6.1 million workplaces to inspect. If they inspect 1/2 million workplaces per year or an average of 217 inspections per inspector (1 per day), then your statistical chances are that you might be inspected once every 12 years. However, your chances are much higher than that. First, states carry out inspections of government and private workplaces, if they have an approved plan. Recently four more states got approval. Only New York and Connecticut limit inspections to government facilities. This means that OSHA counts with many more ad hoc inspectors (like a franchise). Some states inspect both government and business sectors and they add their own rules to OSHA. So, in some states like New York, you could be visited by both OSHA and the state labor department of health and even City inspectors get involved sometimes. Each agency cites separately. Federal fines go to the federal treasury and state fines go to the state. States keep their own records of inspections and the Federal Government their own. It is difficult to get hold of statistics that encompass all state and federal inspections and to determine how much money was actually collected in fines. 

In addition, inspecting small workplaces does not take all day and fines are much smaller. Inspectors could easily inspect several small businesses in a day, since they are only checking for a few items. 

They will concentrate on manufacturing places,auto shops and other targeted industries. This means that when it comes to smaller workplace inspections, inspectors can be much more efficient. If they inspected say 2 to 3 small businesses daily, and adjusting for the fact that state inspectors in some industrial areas do part of the work, it seems your chances are about maybe once every 2 years. Certainly if your businesses is within commuting distance of an OSHA field office, your chances are much higher. 

Construction firms, who are visible, are increasing their chances. Chances are that an OSHA inspector will show up at most construction jobs in a town. OSHA claims that the average fine is about $600. Yet, a computer analysis shows that is probably more like their minimum fines. Typically, they run in the thousands and it is our experience that even small construction firms are receiving fines in the tens of thousands. 

Voluntary Safety & Health Program Management Guidelines

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued voluntary program management guidelines to encourage employers to do more than just comply with regulations to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses. 

Although compliance with the law, including specific OSHA standards, is an important objective, an effective program looks beyond specific requirements of law to address all hazards. It seeks to prevent injuries and illnesses, whether or not compliance is at issue. 

The language in these guidelines is general so that it may be broadly applied in general industry, shipyards, marine terminals, and longshoring activities regardless of the size, nature, or complexity of operations. Construction activities are not covered by this guideline because they are already covered under OSHA's construction standards. 

The guidelines, a distillation of successfully applied safety and health management practices, are advocated by safety and health professionals and consultants representing corporations, professional associations, and labor unions.  

The Guidelines  

The guidelines call for systematic identification, evaluation, and prevention or control of general workplace hazards, specific job hazards, and potential hazards, which may arise from foreseeable conditions. 

The extent to which a program is described in writing is less important than how effective it is in practice. As the size of a worksite or the complexity of a hazardous operation increases, however, the need for written guidance increases to ensure clear communication of policies and priorities and consistent and fair application of rules.