When Your Job Is a Hazard to Your Health
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
“Take This Job and Shove It” was a big hit for Johnny Paycheck in 1977. These days, the anemic job market means people are more likely to put up with bad working conditions. It also means some employers may begin to take their employees for granted.
It’s too early to know if current economic conditions are leading to more hazardous workplaces. Since the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was established n 1970, health and safety conditions in America’s workplaces have improved. We’ve come a long way from the days coal miners used caged canaries as toxic gas detectors. Yes, there really were canaries in coal mines.
However, according to the AFL-CIO,
“In 2007, the most recent year for which job fatality data is available, 5,657 workers lost their lives on the job as a result of traumatic injuries. While this is a decline in worker deaths from 2006, when 5,840 fatal injuries were reported, on average 15 workers die every day because of job injuries. In 2007, more than 4 million work-related injuries and illnesses were reported by employers, but due to limitations in the injury reporting system and underreporting of workplace injuries, this number understates the problem. The true toll is estimated to be two to three times greater or 8 to 12 million injuries and illnesses a year.”
The most common workplace danger is exposure to poisonous chemicals and other toxins. These toxins include asbestos, and most exposure to asbestos occurs on the job. Diseases caused by asbestos exposure include mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer, and asbestosis.
What can an employee do if he or she believes his workplace is dangerous? I looked at OSHA’s guidelines for employees and was not encouraged. You are invited to contact a regional OSHA office. If you live in one of the 22 states with their own OSHA programs, you can contact the state office. You can file complaints in person, by telephone, by fax, by mail or electronically through the OSHA website.
What do you do while you are waiting for OSHA to respond? “If the condition clearly presents a risk of death or serious physical harm,” OSHA says, “there is not sufficient time for OSHA to inspect, and, where possible, you have brought the condition to the attention of your employer, you may have a legal right to refuse to work in a situation in which you would be exposed to the hazard.”
May have a legal right? Yes that’s … so not helpful.
Barbara O’Brien
June 24, 2009
