All companies are obliged by law to offer a safe workplace to their employees. Both the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) protect employees, so if any employee feels unsafe in their workplace, they have the right to refuse working, and can file a complaint with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), who will assess the workplace safety requirements. If the company doesn’t fulfill all OSHA requirements, they can be fined for workplace safety violations.

Below you will find some important aspects that can help you keep your work environments in compliance with the laws and regulations. But, of course, these are not all of them and different industries can have different requirements:

Workers’ Compensation protects companies and employees giving them medical assistance and wage replacement if they are injured while working. Companies get protection because this insurance waives the employee’s right to sue the company. But if the accident happens because the employee was working in really unsafe conditions, the company can lose the protection from the workers’ comp law and the employee can sue them anyway. In certain states as Colorado, workers’ compensation is mandatory for all companies, otherwise, they have to fill in a Rejection of Coverage form of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Protected concerted activity means what we were talking about above: if an employee refuses to work because he considers that the conditions are not safe enough, he is protected by the NLRA.
Ergonomics develop working equipment that should minimize distress and increase productivity. Using economics equipment reduces those typical musculoskeletal injuries that are caused at the workplace, and which cause a high percentage of absenteeism in companies.
Workplace violence is an aspect of workplace safety that many companies don’t bear in mind. But if there is a case of violence among employees that could be foreseeable, this is responsibility of the company for negligent hiring, retention, supervision or training. If there is a case of violence coming from outside the work environment, the employer can also be responsible, so it is important to check out this aspect of the workplace safety.
In order to avoid any problem, check out the safety procedures as well as the safety policies in the employee handbook. It is also essential to offer all the necessary training to all employees that may be doing risky tasks or that may be using dangerous materials.