Employers are required to provide a safe work environment, and federal laws establish basic minimum standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establishes these rules and enforces them, citing and fining employers when they fail to comply.
Each year, OSHA publishes a list of the top workplace safety standards that the agency cites employers for violating. Employers need to be aware of such common mistakes so they can try to prevent them. Similarly, employees need to know areas where their companies may be falling short so they can plan for some of the risks faced on-the-job.
It is important for workers to remember, however, that it is not necessary for an employee to prove a violation happened in order to be eligible for a workers’ compensation claim after an injury. In fact, an employee does not need to prove that the company did anything wrong in order for the worker to be entitled to benefits. If, however, an employee can prove that a safety violation caused his or her injury, the employee may be entitled to receive extra compensation beyond the standard workers’ compensation benefits. A Charlotte workplace injury attorney can assist those who have been hurt in understanding their rights and pursuing a claim for benefits.