Harrisburg Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Some Pennsylvania workplaces have inherent hazards due to the nature of the job. However, these employers are still responsible for ensuring that the workplace is as safe as possible for employees. This includes identifying and remedying workplace hazards. To help employers with this process, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides guidance publications with recommended practices.

The Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs document was originally published in 1988. A first update to the document was published in October 2016. This revision noted that major changes had taken place in workplaces across the U.S. As a result, changes were made to reflect hazard identification and assessment. The guide offers six steps or action items that employers can take to make the workplace safer.

Coal mining forms part of the economy and history of Pennsylvania. Underground mining, however, exposes workers to coal dust, which builds up in the lungs and causes serious and sometimes fatal health problems. Pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, has increased among miners despite workplace safety regulations that are meant to reduce coal dust exposure. Researchers also suspect that coal dust promotes lung cancer and emphysema.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has released a report questioning the efficacy of current safety regulations. The report cited concerns among researchers about continuous personal dust monitors worn by workers. These devices might not accurately measure the concentration of coal particles. Not all workers wear these monitoring devices, which complicates the assessment of their impact on preventing occupational illness.

Illnesses caused by mosquito, tick and flea bites have been on the rise throughout Pennsylvania and the rest of the U.S. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new report saying that between 2004 and 2016, the number of cases involving such illnesses has more than tripled. Over 640,000 cases arose within that 12-year period.

The domestic diseases most frequently reported include Zika fever, dengue fever, Lyme disease and plague. These and other insect-borne diseases tend to share similar symptoms -- fatigue, fever, muscle pain, skin rash and even paralysis. According to the CDC, commerce that moves insects across the country may partly be to blame for causing the rise.

Employers in Pennsylvania and throughout the country don't like to miss project deadlines. However, the consequences of a workplace accident could be more significant than missing a deadline because safety rules were prioritized. To ensure that companies are putting the proper emphasis on workplace safety, owners and managers should create and champion a culture that values it. As a general rule, the workers will follow the lead of their managers.

To get employees to buy into a safety program, they should be given the opportunity to give feedback. This can be done through private conversations or through discussions that occur prior to the start of a shift. During pre-shift meetings, managers should emphasize the importance of following safety rules as well as talk about any hazards that have been identified in recent hours or days. To further encourage communication between workers and managers, safety surveys should be distributed to employees.