Lack of Oversight Creates Dangerous Workplaces

29 May Lack of Oversight Creates Dangerous Workplaces

The recent fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and other high-profile disasters have revealed that many workplaces have become genuinely dangerous. According to information from the Guardian, a British newspaper, OSHA, the government agency responsible for inspecting and ensuring the safety of workplaces, has been cut so drastically over the years that it is barely able to do its job. In fact, according to that same article, OSHA would take well over 100 years to get around to inspecting a plant like the one that exploded in West with the resources the agency currently has.

Make no mistake about it, many workplaces out there are extremely dangerous and there is very little oversight at present.

Understanding the Risks

When you take on a new job, it’s a good idea to make certain you are working in a workplace that takes safety seriously. Companies that take safety seriously will generally have workplace investigations through an investigator who works privately come in and assess the company’s operations for safety performance. Companies that take safety seriously will also employ written programs that are used to train new employees into the safety requirements of their jobs.

There are employers out there who try to cut every corner and who don’t mind doing so, even when it puts their employees at risk. Such employers may ask employees to take actions that are clearly dangerous in the course of their duties. For example, such an employee may ask employees to climb ladders without fall protection, to enter confined spaces without the proper training, to work on machinery without a lockout/tag-out policy in place and to do other things that unnecessarily put people’s lives at very real risk.

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Even though government agencies may be hard-pressed to do their jobs these days, employees are not powerless in these situations. You can contact a work injury attorney if you have been injured by an employer who asked you to take actions that were obviously dangerous or an employer who was obviously flaunting workplace safety rules.

It’s important for employees to be aware of the risks that they’re taking in their jobs. If you are asked to perform tasks that you have not been trained for or to perform tasks without the necessary safety equipment, it’s never a good idea to comply. It may cost you your job, but it’s better to lose your job than to lose your life.