Workers Compensation Laws Essays

Workers Compensation Laws Essays Workers Compensation Laws Essay Workers Compensation Laws Essay In every organization it is important for the management to put in place mechanisms that are meant to protect the workers from hazardous factors since they are useful assets that determine the success of an organization. Workers compensation law this is a law enacted by the government that is used to provide the compensation for workers who are injured or displaced when carrying out their activities. The employees   are compensated with money and   future court cases and expenses   incurred when carrying out the activities of an organization are met by   the employer .The workers compensation law is   beneficial to the dependants of the injured or deceased persons since   it protects the employer against any unwarranted demands from the dependants who   in the future affect the operations of an organization as they may   claim for their money from the employers without following the right procedures. The major concepts behind Workers Compensation Laws The concepts that are applied in the Workers Compensation Law are; no fault concept that states that the employee is entitled to his or her benefits regardless of whether it is the employers or employees’ who caused the accidents to occur. The injured employee should not have difficulties in explaining the persons who caused the factors that caused the injury as it is his right to be compensated by the employer. As long as the employee gets an injury or pain when undertaking his duties he should be compensated accordingly. The amount that should be given to the employee can depend on factors such as his the current wage rate. Even if the employee cannot prove that his employer was wrong in implementing equipment that later on became a disaster to them then he should be paid his dues when they arise. Another concept is that the benefits given to the employee are limited and they do not include what the employee might seek to recover from the court in terms of pain and suffering and therefore it protects the employer from any judgments that may be made in the courts of law. Negligence concept also arises when the issues of workers compensation are been addressed. It states that there are remedies that arise are in lieu of all other rights that have been imposed on the employer. It also provides exclusivity in the remedies provided to the injured worker so that the employee cannot sue the employer under the disguise of negligence. Traditionally the employer would avoid his liabilities against an injured worker by pleading contributory negligence, assumption of the risk or the employer that would allege that the injury was caused by a co-worker hence greater compensation is made to the employees. The compensation law is a strict liability in nature therefore the employee does not have to prove the faults and negligence of the employer (Ohio Industrial Commission and Bureau of Workers Compensation 1997). Subrogation concept is applied in cases where injury occurs due to negligence that is caused by a third party. The employer will therefore help the employee to get his remedies and benefits that arise from injuries that he incurs. The employer usually steps in to help the employee get his benefits that enables him to     recover from injuries have affected his or her rate of performance in the work place. The ways and means the concepts are applied in Fire Service Departments The workers compensation law provides the following three kinds of benefits to the fire victims: the medical benefit which assists to cure or relieve the injured worker of his pain, cash benefits that normally replace the loss of the present and future of the injured worker. In the case of death the cash usually goes to the dependant and finally the rehabilitation benefits which are used to assist the fire victims with both medical and vocational services if the injuries were very severe and serious ( Ohio Industrial Commission and Bureau of Workers Compensation 1997). Under the workers compensation law the employer is usually instructed to fill a form to indicate that a worker has been injured in the course of his duty. The form is later on forwarded to the insurance carriers within a period of one working day together with the details of the amount of money that the employee is entitled to receive. In addition the employer should provide a list of about three physicians from which the employee should visit and also inform the employee about the name and number of the insurance carrier. The employee has the absolute rights to recive good medical care that covers the costs incurred by the doctors while in hospital. Any compensation that is to be given to the injured is restricted only to those employees that are injured unwillfully in the course of their official duties. Those that are hurt out of reckless behavior, illicit drugs or alcohol, self inflicted injuries and those injured while performing any criminal activities do not qualify for the benefits therefore one has prove that the injury occurred in the course of his employment and therefore the exact place and time must be proved. The employers and the carriers should be very careful when making payments of these benefits as some injuries may have occurred while the person was not in the course of their employment (Shawn, A. 2001). Reasons for Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). It is federal law that was enacted so as to govern the Occupational Health Safety Act in the private sector and federal governments in the United States. There are about eight programs that operate under Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)   that   include the;Adminstrative programs,construction,compliance program, federal states programs, health standards, policy programs, safety and technical support programs .The main reasons why   it was enacted was to ensure that the employees worked in   an environment that was safe and free from any hazards. The employees were to be provided with an environment that was free from toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, exposure from very high or very low temperatures and unsanitary conditions. It would ensure that employees that suffered from no health or functional impairment as long as they were in their working places as a result of injuries or illnesses or in the event of death were taken care of appropr iately (Edward, J. P.2005). The government of the United States intervened one day to implement the law since the employers found it easier to provide recourse for relief of injured workers rather than provide the safety of the worker. They set standards that would be followed in the work place and also carried out inspections to find out if the employers were complying with the set rules and standards. The inspections were done without the knowledge of the employer so that they could have an actual picture of standards set at the workplaces.   It also addressed issues, citations and against all the persons that did not comply with the set standards and regulations. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) ensured that the common obligations of the employee were met in the workplace through   reducing the number of accidents that occurred and in case any accident happened and   it reduced the severity of the injuries by putting into place safe designs and procedures. It would also be used to protect the employee against any form of relation that occurred within the workplace and involved the right to refuse to work under very extreme bad working conditions. They also are involved in creation of awareness about the safety procedures in the workplace for the educating the workers on the need maintaining health practices and thus could collect data, study it and analyze to find out the sources of the problems. The act would also guaranteed the employee some rights whereby he could   refuse to work under conditions that could be proved that they are dangerous to his health and he could   ask to be   paid time off to seek medical attention incase of injuries. An employee had a right to demand for safe emergency existed   for use in case of fire .They would   be provided with personal protective clothing’s to protect their eyes, ears, head, feet and the respiratory system from any injuries. Organizational structure and Authority of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). This is the structure that shows how the responsibilities authorities and relations of an organization should be organized so that the goals and objectives are achieved. It also shows the chain of command and the overall duties and responsibilities of the supervisors’ and   officers working under the department of the secretary of labour.At the top level we have the General supervisor who gives a general overview   site of the working environment. He is followed by the site Safety and Health Officer who coordinates the emergency responses if they occur and finally we have the Onsite Officer who ensures that all the operations of the organization are run safely and also notifies the Site Health and Safety Officer that any emergency has actually occurred. Authority It’s the power that is given to a person who is charged with the responsibility of making decisions for an organization. Usually extends to most of the nongovernmental organizations with employees, but any state corporations are excluded from the federal coverage. Any state that operates their own safety programs approved by the department of labor are required to cover all their employees in the public sector, but in the same states private employees remain under the federal juridication.There are   about twenty one state that operate under Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)that   cover both the public and private workers. The only state that provide plans for public employees are New Jersey, New York and the Virginia Island. The postal Service Act also put Postal service under the jurisdiction of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The office of the secretary of labor has a right to investigate any allegations that have been raised upon the employer. If an employee feels that they are being discriminated against because of exercising their right on the health and safety issues then the investigations should be done so that the employer complies with the law. If the allegations are found to be true then the employer should be sued by the office on behalf of the employee. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) has the authority to recognize any employees or employers who have shown great efforts in the providing quality working conditions through implementing voluntary programs. They normally motivate both the employer and employee so that they can achieve excellent results when providing safety and health results to the customers. It also authorizes the office of the secretary of labor to set up standards that should be met by the employer, to develop and issue regulations on safety issues at workplace, to conduct investigations about those employers who do not complying with the set standards and they determine the status of those who have complied with the standards (International Personnel Management Association. 1999). Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) also provides training and education programs in partnership with trade unions and other stakeholders to formulate strategies to avoid fire breakouts in the worklace.Through the training and educational program they assist the employers to maintain consistent standards that should be followed within an organization. It also establishes the maximum amount of fire one should be exposed to and usually recommends the proper garments that should be worn by employees in the fire service department. Proper record keeping should be done by this office to show all the injuries that have actually occurred and monitor the occurrence. A safety plan should also be provided   for by this department and should provide key information such   as list of key personnel, emergency numbers, location of the nearest fire department,ambulance,police post or hospital, site routes or maps, lists of hazards associated with the site ,the appropriate fire protective garments ,air monitoring plans and techniques to be used. In conclusion the protection of workers from hazardous environment is always the right thing to do any business. It enables an organization to save on   cost in terms of money, time and energy used in case of injuries coming up. Such as reduced medical expenditure in case a fire breaks out, reduced insurance costs, decrease in the pay out for return work programs, fewer sub standard goods being produced and reduces the amount paid to the dependants of the deceased incase of death occurring in the future. There are also indirect benefits that the company derives out of proper safety programs; increased productivity as the workers concentrate more on working ,lower costs of employing new employees as labor turnover is usually minimal and decreases any costs that are incurred due overtime worked as employees are able to complete their tasks on time. It is therefore important for the management of organization to put in place strategies that are meant to protect the employees from gett ing injuries as this can affect the performance of a company hence lead to reduced earnings for an organization