Nationwide Law Firm Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Looks at How the Law Protects Employees Who Report Unsafe Working Conditions
According to statistics published by the National Safety Council, which is America’s leading nonprofit organization safety advocate, every seven seconds a worker is injured on the job; everything from strains, sprains, tears and soreness, to cuts, lacerations, punctures, and the list goes on. Not only does this result in pain and suffering — including chronic ailments that can last for years — but it contributes to enormous productivity loss.
“What makes the widespread prevalence of worker injuries even more shocking and alarming, is that the vast majority of them — if not virtually all of them — are preventable,” commented a representative from Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a nationwide law firm that focuses on complex civil litigation in multiple practice areas, including personal injury, consumer class action, securities, merger and transactional, shareholder derivative, and wage and hour litigation. “By law, the workplace must be free of health and safety hazards, which includes eliminating all threats that are known or that should be known. And while many employers fulfill their legal and moral obligation to protect their workers, unfortunately there are some employers that flout this requirement — and in some cases blatantly. This can and does lead to avoidable injuries to workers, and even death.”
What Is an Unsafe Working Environment?
As for what exactly constitutes an unsafe working environment, there is no master list that covers every possible transgression. With this being said, some common violations include poor lighting, malfunctioning tools and equipment, failure to properly secure and store heavy objects, exposure to extreme cold, heat or noise, faulty wiring and other electrical hazards, toxic fumes, lack of protective gear, unsanitary and unhygienic conditions, and lack of barriers to block access to dangerous equipment or areas.
“In addition to potential risks and threats in the environment, health and safety can also be compromised if workers are not properly trained to use dangerous equipment,” commented a spokesperson from Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2020. “Even if these untrained workers do not pose a danger to themselves, their actions or inactions can injure or even kill a co-worker.”
The good news is that workers can — and for their own safety and the safety of others, should — file a formal complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and demand that their workplace be brought up (and in some cases very far up) to an appropriate and legal standard. There are three ways to file a complaint. The first is by submitting an online complaint form on the OSHA’s website. The second is by downloading and mailing or faxing a complaint form. The form is available as a PDF document in English and Spanish. The third is by calling the OHSA. Local office numbers are posted on the OHSA’s website or can be found by calling 1–800–312-OHSA.
“Once a complaint is filed, the OSHA will contact the employer in question in order to discuss and address the alleged health and safety violations, and may follow-up with an on-site visit,” commented a spokesperson from Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP which is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in Pennsylvania, California, Delaware and Georgia. “Workers who file a complaint have the right to attend the on-site inspection, speak privately with the designated OSHA inspector, attend a joint meeting with the OHSA inspector before and after the inspection, request that the OSHA inspector speak confidentially with other workers during the investigation, and learn the results of the investigation.”
Despite this potentially life-saving service provided by the OSHA, some workers are nevertheless reluctant to file a complaint, because they fear reprisals and punishments from their employer. Fortunately, they are categorically not exposed to this risk.
“Workers who file a complaint with the OSHA are completely protected from being fired, demoted, transferred, or discriminated against in any way,” commented a spokesperson from Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP. “Furthermore, if they wish workers can request to remain anonymous, and as such their name will not be passed along by the OSHA to their employer.”
