Employers in California and around the country are obligated to follow certain safety guidelines that have been established by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. If these are not adhered to, an employer may be issued citations and fines for the violations by the agency. Records of these citations must then be posted near the unsafe work area until the matter is corrected.
One of the main responsibilities of an employer is to provide a workplace that is free from serious hazards. Employers must also regularly inspect the work environment to ensure that there are no hazards and the area is safe according to OSHA standards. If there are unavoidable hazards that cannot be removed from a work environment, employers must use clear signs, posters and labels to warn workers about the potential dangers.
It is an employer’s responsibility to keep accurate records of any work-related illnesses or injuries that originate from the workplace. Both current and former employees should be allowed to access these records. If an employee reports an employer for maintaining an unsafe work environment, the employer is not allowed to retaliate against the employee for making the report.
A worker who has been injured on the job might want to consult an attorney about the remedies that may be available. Whether a workplace injury was caused by an employer’s negligence or a mistake that was made by the worker, the injured worker may claim workers’ compensation benefits to help cover their lost wages and pay for necessary medical treatment. If the injury was caused by the negligence of a third party other than the employer, it may in some cases be possible to maintain a separate personal injury action as well.
