978-0078029165 Chapter 14 Part 2

Chapter 14 – Employee Health and Safety

14–12

CHAPTER 14 – IMPORTANT TERMS

Abatement period – amount of time the employer has to fix problems related to OSHA

violations

Burnout – an experience of developing cynical attitudes toward the job and/or clients, feeling

EAPs – Employee assistance programs provide specific programs designed to help employees

with personal problems

Ergonomics – is the science of designing workspace and equipment to be as compatible as

possible with the physical and psychological limits of people

“General Duty Clause”– OSHA states each “employer shall furnish a place of employment which

Job Stress – a situation wherein job-related factors interact with a worker to change his or her

psychological and/or physiological condition such that the person is forced to deviate from

normal functioning

14–13

manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

“Liability without fault”- workers who are victims of work-related injury or illness are granted

benefits regardless for who is responsible for the accident, injury, or illness

National Institute for Occupational Safety (NIOSH) – Established by OSHA, part of the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, and is responsible for investigating hazardous working

conditions, evaluating working standards, creating and disseminating methods for preventing

disease, injury and disability, and conducting research and providing scientifically valid

recommendations for protecting workers

Negligent Retention – occurs when an employer fails to remove an employee from a position

involving a single incident

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) – US department of Labor division

designed to reduce occupational diseases and on-the-job injuries

Occupational stress – stress that occurs regarding work, job demands, role ambiguity, or

burnout

“Right-to-know“ laws – employees’ right to know if they are working with unsafe substances,

how to work with them safely, and how to administer first aid if workers come in contact with

toxic chemicals

Selective exclusion – not hiring employees at high-risk of accidents and injury at work

manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Chapter 14 – Employee Health and Safety

CHAPTER 14 – IMPORTANT LEGISLATION

Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 – requires federal contractors to provide a drug-free

and illnesses that employers pay for and pass costs on to consumers; liability without fault

CHAPTER 14 – IMPORTANT CASES

Marshall vs. Barlow’s Inc.: OSHA may not conduct warrantless inspections with out an

employer’s consent. It may, however, inspect after acquiring a judicially authorized search

warrant based upon administrative probably cause or upon evidence of a violation.

Chapter 14 – Employee Health and Safety

14–16

CHAPTER 14 – DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is a 20-year-old with three years of experience more likely to be involved in an

accident than a 30-year-old with three years of experience? After you develop your

theory for this fact, explain how companies can intervene to reduce (or wipe out) the

effect.

The higher accident rates for younger employees may be due to a number of factors. Older

taking greater risks since they may not have developed an appreciation of their own mortality.

Companies can use a variety of approaches to reduce accidents. One method of accident

reduction is not to select employees who are “accident-prone” or have a history of accidents. A

training program in accident prevention and safety can be provided to make employees aware of

unsafe practices and the consequences of unsafe behaviors. This specialized training is rarely

review process to improve safety records by providing immediate and constant feedback and

positive reinforcement to shape behavior.

Published safety rules are another approach to reduce accidents. In order for safety rules to be

effective, they need to carefully describe the steps to be taken on the job to ensure maximum

safety. For each step, potential dangers are identified to alert the worker. In addition to

avoid OSHA liability.

Chapter 14 – Employee Health and Safety

2. How could you as a manager develop a strategy for increasing employees’ motivation

to work more safely?

Students’ responses will vary, however the responses should reflect some (or all) aspects of

Figure 14-7 on pg. 523. An example might be the following:

discipline infractions.

3. Devise a training program and a policy directed at increasing the physical fitness of your

employees. Take a position on smoking, alcohol use, and other health-related matters,

and state whether you would make the programs mandatory.

A training program designed to increase employee physical fitness should start with a needs

analysis. The needs analysis would target specific areas of physical fitness that need

Chapter 14 – Employee Health and Safety

14–18

The physical fitness policy needs to establish what the goals of the program are, whom the

program covers, and how the programs will be implemented to meet the goals. Most wellness

a smoking cessation program, but it would be possible to require every employee to attend a

certain number of educational seminars each year.

One of the biggest issues of employee physical fitness is smoking in the workplace. There is a

great deal of evidence that documents the negative effects of smoking including exposure to

second hand smoke. Companies are faced with the health effects of smoking on their workforce

situation. That is, employees should enjoy a higher standard of health, while the organization

should benefit from a healthier, more productive workforce. Such a strategy may also reduce the

cost of an organization’s health insurance premiums.

4. Do you think that managers should be held criminally liable for health and safety

violations? Should they go to jail for such violations? If so, under what conditions? If

not, why not?

Again, students‘ responses will vary. Those who believe that managers should not be held

criminally liable may respond in the following manner:

The majority of health and safety violations are not under the immediate control of a manager.

Chapter 14 – Employee Health and Safety

5. Do you support a policy of random drug testing for all employees? Explain. Would you

be less attracted to an organization that required random drug testing with no probable

cause?

Students are likely to have different reactions toward this question. A typical response against

random drug testing might include the following:

Drug testing by itself may or may not be an invasion of privacy, but random drug testing may be.

Random drug testing gives the employer more control over the employee and creates an

atmosphere of mistrust. A policy of random drug testing is about the same as a random search

Advocates of random drug testing might respond in the following manner:

Employers have an obligation to create a safe working environment. Employees should be

supportive of management efforts including random drug testing to make the workplace safe.

6. Should a company be allowed to prohibit smoking or drinking alcohol on or off the job

for its employees? Explain your answer.

Companies already are able to restrict smoking and drinking alcohol on the job. The usual policy

for alcohol use on the job is no tolerance. Their smoking policies range from the use of

Chapter 14 – Employee Health and Safety

14–20

It is the consensus of legal opinion that companies can ban smoking in the workplace, except

where smoking is expressly allowed as part of a union contract, or where legislation exists which

protect smokers. While it is possible for companies to enforce no smoking and no alcohol policies

at the workplace, some have questioned the right of the company to ban smoking and alcohol

7. Given the accumulated evidence of the effects of smoking, why hasn’t OSHA taken any

steps to regulate smoking and second-hand smoke in the workplace?

OSHA will almost certainly issue regulations regarding smoking in the workplace. Section 654(a)

of OSHA states that the “general duty” of employers is to provide places of employment “free of

recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his

employee.” In 1992, OSHA took the initial steps in considering tobacco smoke as a workplace

14–21

8. What kind of work-related factors affect employees’ stress levels? What

recommendations would you offer a company to manage the stress of its employees?

Job stress has been related to too many job demands, role conflict, role ambiguity, conflicts

between job obligations and family obligations, work groups, fatigue, and burnout. Companies

9. Compare and contrast employee assistance and wellness programs. What is the value

of each for an organization?

Both EAPs and wellness programs are based on the employees volunteering for the program.

Companies with federal contracts must adopt formal anti-drug policies under the Drug Free

Workplace Act. However, they gain more than maintaining legal specifications. EAP programs

10. Why has violence in the workplace become a larger problem for organizations? What

recommendations would you offer to a company to ensure that it does not experience

violence? Be specific.

The effects on business by workplace violence is exorbitant costs, not just monetarily, but also

loss of lives, trauma, rising health care costs, high workers’ compensation, legal fees, lost days

of work, lower productivity, and decreased public image.

OSHA’s guidelines for a workplace violence prevention program should include management

commitment, employee involvement, work-site analysis, hazard prevention and control and