:: rawblogXport ::

:: Sunday, December 28, 2003 ::

Lawyer says worker was told to stay out of trench By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Washington, D.C., attorney and OSHA expert Baruch Fellner said depending on the circumstances, the employer could be free of blame. It is, Fellner said, the 'classic employee misconduct defense.'

In other words, Fellner said, if an employee decided to disobey the explicit instruction of an employer, the employee could essentially be responsible for his own misfortune, even if the employer did not follow every OSHA regulation.

OSHA report: Victim of fall loosened safety gear By Matt O'Brien
Both the worker's 'lanyard hooks were secured to the harness, indicating that the victim had unhooked himself and attached ends of lanyards to himself prior to falling,' according to the OSHA report.

Examination Finds OSHA 'Reluctant' to Seek Prosecution BLR/HRNext
In the last 20 years, OSHA has declined to seek prosecution in 93 percent of the cases involving willful safety violations that resulted in worker deaths, according to an examination by the New York Times.

The newspaper examined OSHA's records covering the period of 1982 to 2002 and found an agency 'reluctant' to refer cases of willful violators of workplace health and safety rules to federal and state prosecutors. The newspaper discovered 1,242 instances when OSHA determined that workers died because the employer had willfully violated safety rules.

posted 8:09 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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