Last summer, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) changed some of its workplace safety rules and increased its citation structure to encourage employers to be diligent in keeping workers safe and fulfilling their regulatory obligations. Some information about the rule changes may have been passed along to some employees in some workplaces, but many employees may have no idea that some of the rules have changed, let alone how any of the changes apply to them.
Some of the OSHA rule changes involve the procedures for tracking and reporting illnesses and injuries that occur in the workplace. Some employers must now begin submitting illness and injury information to OSHA electronically. This is not a huge change because the information that must be submitted is information that they were already required to collect and keep under previous OSHA rules.
While the electronic filing requirement is important, only some individuals are likely to be aware of it, particularly those people who will be submitting the information to OSHA as part of the work that they do. All employees may be more interested in learning about another change in the OSHA rules, the anti-retaliation provisions. In the interest of collecting accurate data regarding workplace injuries, employees must feel safe reporting injuries and discussing the details of their injuries. Employees who fear retaliation are unlikely to disclose the types of information that OSHA wishes to collect, and so OSHA has created three provisions that it hopes will create a workplace atmosphere in which employees feel safe reporting the details of their injuries.
You may have seen a poster in your workplace that reads “Job Safety and Health – It’s the Law.” This poster, along with statements in your employee handbooks and orientation materials fulfill your employer’s obligation to let you know that you have the right to report any and all workplace injuries. Also, your employer must have a reporting procedure for injuries and illnesses which is reasonable. If the reporting policy at your workplace discourages employees from reporting illnesses or injuries in any way, it could be a violation of this provision. Thirdly, employers are not allowed to retaliate against employees who report work-related lionesses or injuries by having incentive policies, drug testing policies, or disciplinary policies that would have a retaliatory effect.
Sometimes, it can be hard to distinguish between a retaliatory disciplinary policy and one that is not retaliatory. For example, it is okay for an employer to impose disciplinary consequences upon an employee who violated one or more safety rules, even if they got hurt while they were violating the rule. In contrast, it is not acceptable for an employer to terminate, reassign, harass, or suspend an employee merely because they reported an injury. There must be a valid grounds for any termination, suspension, or reassignment.
Barrett Law PLLC: Representing Injured Workers Throughout Mississippi
If you got hurt at work, report your injury to your employer right away. Reporting injuries and illnesses in the workplace is your right, and it is important that you follow the proper procedure for reporting the injury so that you can file a claim for worker’s compensation if such a claim is appropriate in your situation. Worker’s compensation claims can be complex and time-consuming, so it is best to get help from a Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney. Please call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a consultation.
