Worker Participation
To be effective, workers and their representatives need to participate in safety and health programs.
Worker participation means workers are involved in establishing, operating, evaluating, and improving the safety and health program.
Here are some reasons why workers should participate in safety:
- They have much to gain from a successful program, and the most to lose, if the program fails.
- They often know the most about potential hazards associated with their specific jobs. Successful safety programs tap into this knowledge base.
- They gain a greater sense of ownership in procedures they help to develop. As a result, they are more likely to use safe procedures when not being directly supervised.
Retaliation Against Workers is Illegal
Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for exercising a variety of rights guaranteed under the OSH Act, such as filing a safety and health complaint with OSHA, raising a health and safety concern with their employers, participating in an OSHA inspection, or reporting a work-related injury or illness. OSHA vigorously enforces the anti-retaliation protections provided under 11(c) of the OSH Act and other federal statutes. For more information, see www.whistleblowers.gov.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-3. According to the OSH Act of 1970, which of the following actions may employees engage in without fear of employer retaliation?
You forgot to answer the question!