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Chapter 14 - Employee Health and Safety
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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
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
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
© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
