For many workers in Illinois and Indiana, their workday is filled, at least part of the time, with responsibilities that involve working alone. They include farmers driving tractors in an Indiana farming operation; a Windy City cab driver; a construction worker or miner at work in a confined space; or a commercial truck driver moving a tractor-trailer through our Crossroads of America. Workers who are working from home during the pandemic may also be included in this category, as well as security guards, home health care workers, and utility workers or installers.
In fact, almost every major industry in Illinois and Indiana employs individuals to perform their jobs without a crew, or team, or direct oversight. In safety terms, these employees are called “lone workers.”
It is extremely important for employers to understand that their legal duty of care for the safety of their employees extends to these lone workers just as much as they have a duty to keep workers safe from harm on any shared worksite.
Unfortunately, all too often employers do not respect the safety needs of their lone workers, leaving the worker exposed to an unacceptably high risk of serious injury or death on the job.
Who is a Lone Worker?
From a safety perspective, an employee is considered to be a “lone worker” if they are performing tasks in certain situations. One health and safety expert has explained these circumstances to involve (1) work being done independently without visitors to their work location, or (2) work performed on a job site where no one else can see or hear the worker. For more, read “Lone worker safety: planning, communication and stop-work authority are key,” written by Barry Bottino and published by Safety+Health, a National Safety Council publication, on December 19, 2021.
Legally, the definition of “lone worker” will vary according to industry and the job being performed. For instance, in our rail industry a lone worker is defined in 49 CFR 214.7 as “… an individual roadway worker who is not being afforded on-track safety by another roadway worker, who is not a member of a roadway work group, and who is not engaged in a common task with another roadway worker.”
Remote workers may be considered “lone workers” when working from home (or a coffee shop, etc.), as became commonplace during the COVID Pandemic. For more, read the discussion regarding “Lone Workers” published by Safeopedia.
Legal Duty of Care to the Lone Worker
Employers continue to have responsibility to keep workers safe from harm on the job, even if they are working alone. The Code of Federal Regulations provides legal guidance regarding the duties placed upon employers for the safety of each “lone worker” in 29 CFR 1915.84, which provides that:
Except as provided in § 1915.51(c)(3) of this part, whenever an employee is working alone, such as in a confined space or isolated location, the employer shall account for each employee, by sight or verbal communication:
- Throughout each workshift at regular intervals appropriate to the job assignment to ensure the employee’s safety and health; and
- At the end of the job assignment or at the end of the workshift, whichever occurs first.
How can workers be kept safe when they are working alone? Safety protections and protocols exist in various industries to help employers make sure that their lone workers are not in danger of harm while on the job.
Site-Wide Safety Measures
Some of these protections apply to all workers, as for example keeping motor vehicles in good repair and properly maintained regardless of whether the driver is operating a forklift on a crowded construction site (not a lone worker), or driving a long-haul semi-truck across the country (lone worker). Other examples here include a company-wide policy against working in known hazardous conditions, such as severe weather (blizzard, tornado warning, etc.). Just because the employee is working alone does not mean that these safety measures are not applicable.
Lone Work Safety Training
Training is vital for lone workers to understand their safety risks and it is the employer’s duty to educate and update lone workers on these hazards. Standard procedures and protocols should be developed and implemented targeting the protection of lone workers on the job.
Lone Worker Monitoring
Technological advances also help employers meet their legal duty of care and safety regarding the lone worker. These include monitoring tools, like providing each lone worker with a cell phone and other wireless devices (e.g., GPS) that can be used in case of emergency. Gas monitors are a technological example of a device allowing monitoring the safety of a lone worker who is checking utilities on a construction site, etc.
Requiring the lone worker to check into the workplace at designated intervals or on a routine schedule is also important for safety. There should be an employer safety plan in place for incidents where the lone worker fails to report and may be in need of help after an incident or injury.
Injury Claims for Lone Worker Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
When a lone worker is severely injured or killed on the job, both that accident victim and his or her loved ones may have legal claims to advance against an employer for breach of that employer’s duty of care and safety. The employer’s duty to keep the lone worker safe on the job exists regardless of the location of the worker at the time of the injury.
Nevertheless, controversies may arise when employers seek to avoid legal liability by arguing that there was no duty of care for the particular incident because of the circumstances. Examples here may include challenges to the worker’s status, such as defenses asserted against ride-sharing driver injury claims by Uber or Lyft that the driver is operating as an “independent contractor.” The lone worker is also vulnerable to employers arguing that there was no legal duty of care because the worker was not on the job at the exact time of the incident.
Each lone worker hurt on the job deserves an investigation into the incident and a determination of the employer’s compliance with legal duties of care and safety. Expert analysis may be needed to determine the scope of liability.
Worker’s compensation, wrongful death, and negligence laws may all come into play to help lone worker accident victims find avenues for justice after a serious work injury. For more, read:
- Inadequate Truck Driver Training and Fatal Truck Crashes in Indiana or Illinois
- Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
- Lockout Tagout Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer Liability
- Ridesharing Assaults: Claims for Injuries During Uber or Lyft Ridesharing Car Service
- Ridesharing Accidents: Claims for Injuries during Uber or Lyft Ridesharing Car Crash
- The High Risk of a Deadly Confined Space Accident on the Job
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois
- Job Site Injury in Illinois or Indiana: When Accidents at Work Are Not Worker’s Compensation Claims.
Lone workers are especially vulnerable to serious or deadly hazards on the job. Employers have a legal duty of care to keep them safe from harm, but this responsibility may be disrespected or neglected by companies and managers who fail to consider the lone worker’s exposure to injury risks. Please be careful out there!
