Workers across Illinois and Indiana should be aware that federal law demands employers keep workers safe at work.
Great dangers face too many of our industrial workers here in Illinois and Indiana, where known workplace hazards can cause catastrophic bodily injuries or death in a matter of seconds. For safety agencies and those advocating for worker victims and their loved ones, the growing dangers facing local workers in our construction, warehousing, manufacturing, transportation, maritime, agri-business, food processing, and mining industries are especially troubling. Workers are in danger here.
For more, read our discussions in: Rising Trend in Workers Killed on the Job: BLS Reports Highest Number of Worker Deaths Since 2008, Truck Driver Fatalities on the Rise: Fatigue, Speed, and the Trucking Industry; Alarming Rise in Miner Deaths on the Job in 2023, Warns MSHA; and Illinois Worker Warnings of Deadly Risks on the Job in Recent OSHA Citations.
Employers Have a Moral and Legal Responsibility to Protect Workers from Harm
Employers have a moral duty to keep workers safe on the job as their work create profits for the company. There are legal duties, too. Over the years, volumes of safety laws and regulations imposed by federal, state, and local laws create legal duties of care and safety for employers. This is particularly true in certain industries, such as construction.
Employers may complain their industries are overly regulated and safety requirements are unnecessarily costly. However, continued confirmation of the rising trends in both serious industrial accidents and worker fatalities suggests that legal oversight dedicated to protecting people from severe work accidents is, if anything, doing too little to keep workers safe.
Of extreme importance here is the cornerstone of all work safety laws, found in federal legislation, which creates a legal of care for all employers who hire others to do a job for them. It applies across the board, regardless of the industry, to all private employers.
For all Indiana and Illinois workers, the law requires their employers protect them from anything in the course and scope of their employment or on the worksite that might hurt or kill them.
Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act of 1970
The provision is found in federal legislation that became effective over 50 years ago as the “Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970,” 29 U.S.C. § 654 (“OSH Act”). This provision applies to the employer even if there are no specific regulations that apply to a particular situation.
Known as the “General Duty Clause,” OSH Act Section 5(a)(1) also provides the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) with the authority to enforce the OSH Act’s safety provisions. It provides as follows:
Each employer:
(1) shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees; and
(2) shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act.
It covers both employers and employees. The General Duty Clause also requires that:
Each employee shall comply with occupational safety and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued pursuant to this Act which are applicable to his own actions and conduct.
There are limitations to the General Duty Clause. As OSHA explains, it cannot be used to cite an employer for failing to keep worksites safe for workers if the OSHA Inspector can apply a specific federal safety standard to the employer’s violation. OSHA cannot stack violations by adding on a General Duty Clause breach if other violations are already being imposed.
Four Part Test for OSHA Citation
The General Duty Clause allows OSHA to issue citations and impose financial penalties upon employers who breach their legal duty. Before an OSHA citation can be issued, OSHA Inspectors must find facts that meet an evidentiary four-part test.
Before an employer can be cited for violation of the General Duty Clause, OSHA must prove:
- The employer failed to keep the workplace free of a hazard to which its employees were exposed;
- The hazard was recognized;
- The hazard was causing or was likely to cause death or serious physical harm; and
- A feasible and useful method to correct the hazard was available.
General Duty Clause and Private Civil Injury Actions
The four-part test applies to federal regulatory enforcement by OSHA. It does not apply to any private civil personal injury action that a worker victim may bring against those who are responsible for the work accident. (In workers’ compensation claims, fault is not an issue.)
Nevertheless, confirmation of OSHA citations for breach of the General Duty Clause involving the worker victim’s accident, as well as prior OSHA citations for earlier disrespect or disregard for the General Duty Clause can be used by the worker’s advocates in establishing liability in the civil matter.
Judges and juries may consider it very relevant that there were federal citations for breach of the basic, overall legal duty to “…furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.” OSH Act Section 5(a)(1).
Duty of Care for Industrial Employers in Indiana or Illinois
Regardless of the enterprise involved or the goods being shipped, manufactured, distributed, or stored, if employees are involved in the efforts, then the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act applies here in Illinois and Indiana (via our state-run OSHA Plans). See, Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
The OSHA General Duty Clause protects workers by creating a legal duty for each employer to provide everyone on their payroll with a place to work that is free from recognized hazards. In many instances, the General Duty Clause will be superseded by an even more detailed and protective safety standard.
Employers and employees need to know that the basic, overall protection of the General Duty Clause demands a safe workplace. How do employers do this? By knowing the safety standards that apply to their particular endeavor as well as coordinated industry safety standards or guidance. There are lots of ways employers can learn how to keep their people safe.
Employers also meet this duty of care and safety for their workers by doing boots-on-the-ground inspections and investigations into their daily working conditions; providing proper Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”); having safety practices and procedures in place (such as LOTO programs); and training workers as well as supervisors and management on how best to keep everyone safe from harm while on the job.
Fulfilling the duty of care for employees will vary depending upon the industry as well as the particular worksite and the type of work involved. For instance, construction companies will have different things to do from a maritime business, a grain facility, or an e-commerce distribution warehouse.
Compliance will necessitate different things, from employee training; tests and inspections of machinery and equipment; setting up safety plans and emergency procedures; creating hazard warnings and rescue plans; and proper housekeeping protocols for the entire site.
For more, read:
- Workplace Housekeeping and Serious Accidents on the Job: Duty of Care;
- Blizzard Dangers to Workers and Employer’s Duty of Care;
- Known Causes of Industrial Fires: Duty to Keep Workers Safe from Burn Injuries
- Hot Work Industrial Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer’s Duty of Care
- Rescue and Construction Fall Deaths: Employer’s Duty of Safety.
Justice for Workers Hurt or Killed in an Industrial Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois
For workers in Illinois and Indiana, hazards and risks are all too often just a part of the job. Construction workers, miners, commercial truck drivers, and other industrial employees understand they work in dangerous environments. The courage of the industrial worker employed in these high-risk areas is something many take for granted.
However, no employee should be required to work where they face physical injuries or death without the employer doing everything reasonable and prudent to make sure that employee is safe.
The General Duty Clause is designed to make sure every employee has a place of employment free from recognized hazards for the worksite that may cause severe bodily harm or death. This safety regulation applies to make sure the employer has this legal duty of care for the worker, even when there may not be other, more detailed safety regulations in place for that particular jobsite.
Both state and federal law provide avenues for justice to workers who suffer injuries in a work accident. Investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident may reveal that duties of care and safety have been violated by one or more entities involved in the operation, possession, custody, or control of the accident site.
For more, read:
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
- Companies Ignore OSHA Safety Regulations and Workers Get Hurt on the Job
- GM Facing Criminal Charges: When Companies Can Be Liable For Your Injury Claims
- Dirty Dozen Report: No Surprise the Most Dangerous Workplaces are Extremely Profitable Companies.
Sadly, Illinois workers and Indiana employees are being exposed to dangers and risks by employers who are failing to honor the duty of care and safety owed to their workers. People are at risk of permanent or fatal injuries. The General Duty of Care exists to shield workers from harm. Please be careful out there!
