2.1 Caution! Welding Can Be Hazardous To Your Health!
Douglas Rupik, M.Ed., JIW
Employer Responsibilities
No worker should sacrifice their health or their life for the sake of their job. Speaking bluntly, if you die on the job, your family will suffer. Your employer may pay a fine but will likely hire another worker to take your place. OSHA was created to reduce workplace deaths, injuries, and occupational diseases. While some may joke or complain about jobsite safety regulations hindering their work, the prevalence of fatalities, occupational injury, and occupational illness have significantly declined since OSHA came into being.
Employers are required by federal law to provide a safe workplace (Employer Responsibilities | Occupational Safety and Health Administration), and OSHA keeps a specific list of employer responsibilities. Your employer must:
- ensure the worksite is free from serious hazards and complies with safety rules;
- make sure employees use safe tools that have been maintained;
- use signs and other means to warn people of hazards;
- ensure employees follow up-to-date safe operating procedures;
- provide training and medical exams per OSHA requirements;
- display OSHA information posters to inform employees of their workplace rights;
- report all workplace fatalities, hospitalizations, and serious injuries within 24 hours;
- keep records of workplace injuries and illnessesthat workers are allowed access to;
- provide OSHA a list of employees who can accompany jobsite inspections;
- Never discriminate or retaliate against whistleblower employees;
- correct any cited violations; and
- post OSHA citations near the areas where any violations occur.
Employers are also encouraged to have a written safety and health program. Employers must legally abide by OSHA rules and standards unless they are operating in a state with its own safety and health administration. Individual states may have their own regulations and enforcement, provided they are equivalent to or exceed OSHA standards. In Washington state, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) is the agency that manages the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), which works to ensure employers abide by the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA).
Employee Responsibilities
As an employee on a jobsite, you have certain rights guaranteed by OSHA. Here is a summary of your rights as a worker:
- You have the right to receive workplace safety and health training in a language you understand.
- You have the right to work with machines that are safe.
- You have the right to receive the required safety equipment for your job, from gloves and earplugs to a harness and hard hat.
- You have the right to be protected from toxic chemicals.
- You have the right to request an OSHA safety inspection and to speak to the inspector and be protected from retaliation for doing so.
- You have the right to report injuries, review records of work-related injuries and illnesses, and to see your medical records.
- You have the right to see the results of tests taken to find workplace hazards.
Speak Up for Safety’s Sake!
While government laws require employers and their employees to abide by specific jobsite rules to ensure a safe workplace, it is each person’s ethical responsibility to work to make a jobsite safe for all. Not only should you adhere to safe workplace policies, you should encourage others to do so as well. Do not let peer pressure or fear of employer retaliation hinder you from reporting an unsafe act or unsafe condition.
However, that doesn’t mean you should call a government agency whenever you see someone wearing their earplugs incorrectly. Use discretion. Start by talking to the people involved in the hazard. And then, if that is ineffective, seek out a foreperson or safety representative. Simply letting someone know their safety gear is damaged or being used incorrectly may save someone from serious injury or death. Learn safe work practices and observe what is happening around you. If you can correct an unsafe condition, then do so. If you cannot, isolate the area and inform someone who can correct the unsafe condition. Remember, workers have a legal right to refuse to work in dangerous situations. Do not ignore unsafe acts and unsafe conditions! Your voice may make the difference between a workplace accident and everyone going home healthy and uninjured at the end of the day.
Attributions
- Figure 2.2: image released under the Pexels License
- Figure 2.3: image released under the Pixabay License
- Figure 2.4: Construction worker for the Panama Canal expansion project by World Bank Photo Collection is released under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
An acute injury to the body that happens at a specific point in time during the course of employment
Harm done to the body over a period of time during the course of employment
An action that takes place with the risk of accident or injury, often in violation of safety rules and procedures
workplace hazards that are not resolved, resulting in a dangerous work environment in the vicinity of the unsafe condition