Workplace health and safety regulations: Impact of enforcement and consultation on workers' compensation claims rates in Washington State

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 483-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Baggs ◽  
Barbara Silverstein ◽  
Michael Foley
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
Workplace Health And Safety ◽  
Compensation Claims

Workplace Health and Safety: Report from Canada

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Sass
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Workplace Health And Safety ◽  
Worker Health And Safety

This article represents a critical analysis of the major policy responses to workplace health and safety in Canada. It examines the deficiencies inherent in the legislative development of Joint Health and Safety Committees in most Canadian jurisdictions, the limitations regarding standard-setting of worker exposure to contaminants, and disincentive for employers to positively improve the workplace because of Workers Compensation legislation. Collective bargaining agreements in Canada have had only limited positive effects, while the ultimate legal sanction of criminal prosecution by the regulatory agencies has weakened enforcement and compliance of existing regulations. There has never been a successful criminal prosecution of an employer in Canada, even for multiple deaths. The article suggests the following four reasons for this “underdevelopment” of occupational health and safety in Canada: (1) the concealment of the dimension of the incidence of industrial disease based on Workers Compensation Board statistics; (2) the application of an incorrect theory of causation of both industrial disease and injury by both managers and government administrators of occupational health and safety programs; (3) the resistance of both senior and middle managers against increased worker participation in both work organization and job design questions; and (4) the general “moral underdevelopment,” rather than ignorance, of managers in favoring economic considerations or values at the expense of worker health and safety. In light of the magnitude of the problem and the deficiencies of existing policy approaches, the author proposes the need for greater workplace democratization of production and industry as a necessary and sufficient reform of workplace health and safety.

Australian workplace health and safety regulatory approaches to prosecution: Hegemonising compliance

2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 709-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Schofield ◽  
Belinda Reeve ◽  
Ron McCallum
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Regulatory Agencies ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Enforcement Policy ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Dramatic Decline ◽  
Workplace Health And Safety ◽  
Administrative Unit

Enforcement of workplace health and safety regulations remains a contentious matter, especially in the context of Australia’s project to harmonise commonwealth, state and territory workplace health and safety legislation. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study investigating policies and practices associated with prosecution and enforcement in two Australian regulatory agencies, prior to harmonisation. The article finds that by 2008, both regulators had taken significant steps to render their enforcement policy and practice, particularly in relation to prosecution, more transparent and accountable to employers and the wider community. They produced detailed and publicly available enforcement policies and prosecution guidelines, reconfigured the work of the general inspectorate (confining it to routine workplace health and safety surveillance and the provision of education and advice to employers) and established a separate administrative unit responsible for investigation and prosecution. Both regulators structured prosecution processes to achieve explicitly technocratic outcomes, namely, enhanced efficiency, objectivity, timeliness, consistency and quality improvement in investigations. These processes went hand in hand with a dramatic decline in the use of prosecution in New South Wales from 2002 to 2010, and an uneven but marginal increase in Victoria for the same period. The article concludes by discussing what these findings might imply for workplace health and safety regulators’ approaches to prosecution and for deterrence under Australia’s new harmonised regime.

Roundtable on OSHA at 20: What Now?

1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 50-65
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Workplace Health And Safety ◽  
The Many

ON A WINTRY DAY LAST DECEMBER, nearly 20 years to the day after the nation's lawmakers approved the Occupational Safety and Health Act that aimed to substantially curb the injury, illness and death that are an everyday fact of life in America's workplaces, New Solutions convened a panel of invited guests at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., to gauge just how far we have come. Earlier, in the premiere issue of New Solutions, we had run Charles Noble's analysis of “OSHA at 20.” It gave us starting points for a searching discussion of workplace health and safety in this country from the many perspectives that were represented by our panelists (see box, page 65). All of the opinions and comments made during the discussion represent the participants' own viewpoints and are in no way a reflection of the opinions or views of the agencies or organizations with which they are associated. We asked panelists Charles Noble and Richard Pfeffer to begin the discussion with their analyses of the problems. The talk went on for hours, all of it captured on tape. Insights were plentiful; frustrations were obvious; the suggestions, many. Here is Part 1 of a two-part edited transcript of the Roundtable on OSHA, the agency that is 20 years old this April, and the OSH Act which established it. Part 2 will run in an upcoming issue of this journal. We invite you to join the controversy with your letters and longer comments.

scholarly journals The Interface of Safety and Security; The Workplace

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-104
Author(s):  
George Boustras
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Psychosocial Issues ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Workplace Health And Safety ◽  
Main Factors

Abstract 9/11 had a great impact on the development and occurrence of high publicity security-related incidents. One of the biggest impacts was that to public health, due to an increase in psychosocial issues. Cybersecurity incidents and processes of radicalization (either due to religious, political, or economic reasons) can have a direct result on the workplace as well as at the organizational level, which in turn can affect the worker. The aim of this chapter is to explain the main factors linking safety and security, creating a new area for workplace health and safety, that of the “interface of safety and security”.

Functionalized nanomaterials and workplace health and safety

2022 ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
Vildan Erduran ◽  
Muhammed Bekmezci ◽  
Ramazan Bayat ◽  
Zübeyde Bayer Altuntaş ◽  
Fatih Sen
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Functionalized Nanomaterials ◽  
Workplace Health And Safety

scholarly journals Assessing Workplace Health and Safety Strategies, Trends, and Barriers through a Statewide Worksite Survey

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (14) ◽  
pp. 2475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ami Sedani ◽  
Derry Stover ◽  
Brian Coyle ◽  
Rajvi J. Wani
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Health Governance ◽  
Organizational Safety ◽  
Industry Sector ◽  
Safety Strategies ◽  
Workplace Health And Safety ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
Over Time

Chronic diseases have added to the economic burden of the U.S. healthcare system. Most Americans spend most of their waking time at work, thereby, presenting employers with an opportunity to protect and promote health. The purpose of this study was to assess the implementation of workplace health governance and safety strategies among worksites in the State of Nebraska, over time and by industry sector using a randomized survey. Weighted percentages were compared by year, industry sector, and worksite size. Over the three study periods, 4784 responses were collected from worksite representatives. Adoption of workplace health governance and planning strategies increased over time and significantly varied across industry sector groups. Organizational safety policies varied by industry sector and were more commonly reported than workplace health governance and planning strategies. Time constraints were the most common barrier among worksites of all sizes, and stress was reported as the leading employee health issue that negatively impacts business. Results suggest that opportunities exist to integrate workplace health and safety initiatives, especially in blue-collar industry sectors and small businesses.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document