Employers are responsible for creating safe work environments for their employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created, in part, as an enforcing agency to ensure that employers maintain a safe and healthful working environment for ALL employees. OSHA has created standards and regulations for employers designed to aid employers in creating and maintaining safe work sites. The agency then monitors employers for safety compliance. OSHA can cite organizations and penalize them for non-compliance. In the past, OSHA has investigated work-related injuries and deaths and cited organizations for their violations of federal safety violations. In cases where managers are found to have been the negligent party in an accident, the organization is usually held responsible. However, in recent rulings in New York and Michigan, labor agencies are making it clear that violations of worker protection laws will not be tolerated and managers and owners may find themselves being held personally responsible for accidents.
In October of this year, the president of a New York scaffolding firm was indicted on five counts of manslaughter and four counts of assault. OSHA cited Tri-State Scaffolding & Equipment Supplies for improperly constructing a scaffold and not training employees on how to safely use scaffolding. The law required that any scaffolding constructed higher than 75 feet be designed by an engineer. Despite this requirement, Phillip Minucci, the president of the organization, designed and constructed the scaffolding without involving a qualified engineer. The scaffolding erected was 130 feet high. In October of 2001, the scaffolding collapsed resulting in the death of five workers and injury to four other workers. In addition, fifteen emergency personnel and one bystander were also injured. Due to this incident, the DOL’s Labor Inspector stated that the department’s Office of the Inspector General will aid “in vigorously investigating and seeking the prosecution of employers and companies that blatantly place workers in harm’s way.”
Also in October of 2002, the Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration (MIOSHA) set out to prosecute James Morrin, a construction foreman, and J.A. Morrin Concrete Construction Company for a work-related death. The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office convicted both Morrin and his organization for one count of involuntary manslaughter and a criminal violation of MIOSHA. This case marks the first individual conviction for a worksite-related death in the state of Michigan. The company had been notified three times of unsafe working conditions. In August, James Morrin was told of power lines too close to the construction site that violated MIOSHA regulations. Two days after this notification, James Morrin was again warned of the danger. That day, an employee went to raise the bed of his gravel truck that ultimately struck the power lines and killed him. In addition to the criminal charges, the organization faces many other citations from MIOSHA.
In order to prevent unnecessary accidents, employers should regularly conduct safety inspections. When a safety issue is discovered, it should be quickly remedied to ensure safe working conditions. The above cases involved willful violations of known safety issues. Employers can prevent steep fines and criminal penalties by making good faith efforts to ensure safety and compliance with regulations. The OSHA website, www.osha.gov, offers compliance pointers and other valuable information to employers to assist them in establishing a safe work environment. In addition, OSHA’s technical assistance division can be an important resource for solving safety and compliance issues. Your state safety agency (most states have their own occupational safety and health agency), is also ready to provide employer assistance in resolving safety and compliance problems at no charge.
And finally, managers, supervisors and owners should be fully informed that their willful violations of safety rules, regulations and practices my have personal consequences.
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