Oil spills in the Gulf have wreaked havoc for the residents of the area, the effected population consisting of many families of injured or killed workers. As condolences poor in from all over the Country the remaining employees are greatly concerned about the health safety of their workplace and have taken a position, wanting to play an effective role in controlling the hazardous conditions.
The state of California is well known for providing some of the most stringent regulations protecting workers health and security. OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was formed by the Federal Government in 1970 to insure safe work conditions, but long before federal law, California had already established the Cal/OSHA. This administration laid down strict rules and also heavy penalties if the laws were violated in any way.
Thomas Perez is the current U.S. Secretary of Labor, and remains determined to provide the laborers with their rights to safe and healthy environments and this is why when BP Global failed to provide such a workplace in the explosion of the Texas City refinery, his predecessor fined the scandalous BP global heavily.
Cal/OSHA states very clearly that the employer must be aware of any sorts of hazardous conditions that the worker may face and not only inform the employees of those conditions, but also prepare for the worst. The most important thing is that if the employer knows about the hazardous conditions that may occur he should try his best to eliminate them. In case there are any sorts of injuries or casualties in the accidents at the workplace then they should be reported immediately.
The employee has been given rights to ensure their safety:
They have the right to complain about the unsafe environment and can put forth the request of an inspection.
They have the right to follow Cal/OSHA standards and refuse to perform any work that is in violation of that.
The employ cannot be punished for filing the complaint or using any right that is provided by Cal/OSHA.
Violations filed under Cal/OSHA are generally responded to in a quicker manner than reports to OSHA. The stiff penalties and even criminal charges may be pressed, depending upon the severity of the hazardous conditions. The penalty may reach from $7,000 to $25,000 and the additional penalties can be such that each day that the employer takes to correct the conditions he would be charged. Violation of the law with the will of doing so can be penalized between $5,000 and $70,000. If any death or serious injury takes place due to the violation knowingly then the sentence of 3 years and up to $1.5 million fine may be imposed on the employer.
These harsh penalties and hefty fines haven’t ensured the 100% safety in California due to the presence of lawyers in the big cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco who have political support and are very resourceful. Some cases as we know also occur in the rural areas where migrant workers and undocumented immigrants reside who are overlooked by the system up till now. New protection laws now make it safer for such workers to speak up.
All the employees should take care of the health and safety requirements and if they observe any glitches they should report it to their employer. If the employer fails to take adequate steps to eradicate the issue then employees can report the violation/s to Cal/OSHA right away. If any injury or death takes place due to the lack of safety at the workplace don’t forget to report it to Cal/OSHA.
Your experienced San Jose Employment Attorney can guide you regarding your rights to have safe environment more elaborately.
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