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Historic Moments in Workplace Safety
The Groundhog Day celebration on February 2 is a U.S. and Canadian exclusive. But it’s rooted in the European tradition of Candlemas, which commemorates the Purification of the Virgin Mary. Europeans believed that if Candlemas, celebrated on Feb. 2, was a sunny day, winter would last another six weeks. According to an old English song:
If [...]
Wall Street Commoditizes Victims’ Rights
It isn’t illegal. It isn’t immoral. It doesn’t hinder safety. In fact, it actually helps injured workers.
And yet, something about it stinks.
“It” is the practice of banks and financial institutions of putting up the money to pay for major personal injury lawsuits. Litigation thus becomes an investment vehicle in which banks [...]
When Is a Safety Violation a Crime?
Violating a safety obligation is a serious offense that warrants a harsh penalty—especially when somebody is killed or seriously injured as a result. But is a safety violation a crime?
Criminalization of Safety Violations in the U.S.
It can be. Under Section 666(e) of the OSHA statute, companies that commit what [...]
10 Facts About Drinking & Driving
Here are 10 interesting things that you ought to know about drinking and driving.
Alcohol-related fatalities are caused primarily by the consumption of beer (80%) followed by liquor/wine (20%)
There is considerable evidence that laws that lower the illegal BAC limit from .10 to .08 can reduce alcohol-related fatalities by an average of 7%.
Access to an unlimited [...]
9 Ways to Curb Alcohol Liability Risks
If you’re planning to serve drinks at your holiday party, here are some of the steps you can take to prevent drunk driving accidents, recommended by alcohol liability consultant Shelly Timms:
Make guests pay for their drinks and don’t allow workers to buy drinks for clients
Limit the number of drinks each guest can consume
Offer a wide [...]
Assessing and Avoiding the Liability Risks
Editor’s Note: It’s become a SafetyXChange tradition. Every year at this time, we publish my analysis of an important but not well understood aspect of workplace safety: an employer’s potential liability for traffic incidents involving employees who’ve gotten drunk at the company office party.
The Risk of Liability for Serving Alcohol
Like many employers, you may be [...]
What You Don’t Tell Your Workers Can Hurt You
When OSHA/OHS inspectors show up at a workplace, the first people they usually encounter are the workers and supervisors at the site. What transpires between those workers and the inspector in those few moments can make or break the inspection.
Cooperation vs. Self-Incrimination
The start of the inspection is the crucial period [...]
Search Warrants in Canada
In Canada, the search warrant rules are slightly different. Generally speaking, provincial OHS laws grant inspectors broad rights to conduct workplace inspections to determine if an organization is in compliance with regulatory requirements. This includes access to the workplace and the right to see and make copies of documents without [...]
How to Demonstrate the Effectiveness of an OHSMS
OSHA is getting ready to adopt a rule requiring employers to implement a written illness and injury program. Such programs are already required by Cal-OSHA. And in Canada, implementation of an OHS program is required by the OHS laws of many provinces and by the seminal Supreme Court of Canada Sault [...]
Don’t Let Lack of Buy-In Undermine Your IT ‘Solutions’
Implementing a new IT a new system that allows you to track work injuries in real time and identify the hazards that cause them is a pretty impressive accomplishment. Or so you’d think. Only some people may not be so impressed—like the personnel that have to receive employee reports and input [...]
