Safety and Security Issues
Safety items center on the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, recordkeeping, and hazard control; security items cover violence, access, screening, and substance abuse programs.
OSHA basics
The General Duty Clause requires a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. OSHA sets standards, inspects (fatality/catastrophe, complaint, programmed, follow-up), and issues citations. Employees may refuse imminently dangerous work and may request inspections; retaliation is prohibited. Recordkeeping uses OSHA Form 300 (log), Form 301 (incident report), and Form 300A (annual summary, posted February 1 to April 30). Report a fatality within 8 hours; an inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours.
Recordability
A case is recordable if it is work-related and results in death, days away, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant diagnosis. First aid alone-bandages, nonprescription medication, tetanus shot, hot/cold therapy, wound cleaning-is not recordable. Prescription medication, stitches, and fractures are.
Prevention and workers' compensation
Hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE. Workers' compensation is no-fault coverage for work injuries, paying medical costs and wage replacement while barring most tort suits against the employer. Programs use inspections, training, incident investigation, and employee assistance programs; behavior-based safety targets unsafe acts.
Security
Programs include access control, background screening (FCRA disclosure and authorization required), workplace violence prevention and threat assessment teams, drug testing (the Drug-Free Workplace Act covers federal contractors and grantees), and emergency action plans.
Worked example
A warehouse worker lacerates a hand, needs three stitches, and returns to full duty the same day. Recordable? Yes-stitches are medical treatment beyond first aid, so the case goes on the 300 log. It is not a days-away case because he returned to full duty, and no restricted days are counted. Compare: a worker given only a bandage is not recordable; a worker on light duty for five days is recordable with five restricted-work days.
Traps that cost marks
- Recording first-aid-only cases.
- Mixing the 8-hour fatality deadline with the 24-hour hospitalization deadline.
- Selecting PPE before engineering controls.
- Treating workers' compensation as fault-based.
- Running background checks without FCRA disclosure and authorization.