North Carolina workers may see more reports of a work injury

Many residents of North Carolina know that it is common to acquire a work injury or illness; however, what many may not know are the specifics surrounding the injury or illness. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants to change this sooner than later. OSHA wants to enforce and regulate the amount of work injury accidents and injuries, and even make them public knowledge.

Current law as of now is that every employer must have annual documentation of work injuries and illnesses, but most documentation leaves much to the imagination. Often all that is noted is that there were accidents, injuries and illnesses, but it rarely contains actual detail surrounding the situation. These logs are supposed to be kept in a common area in the business so that employees can access them.

OSHA wants every record of employees suffering a work injury or illness to be documented and put online so that every potential employee, and even employees who have already suffered an injury at work, to see. Many owners are very upset at the fact that they think it is intrusive. Some also have concerns of being looked at as if they have poor safety methods, even though it may just be a misunderstanding. OSHA feels differently, though. They think business owners should want this made public, if they were responsible.

The idea of this law is to only go after companies with 250 or more, and they must be submitted annually. If this should fail to be enforced, there will be negative repercussions. OSHA wants to help employees who have suffered a work injury, and to regulate on employers who carelessly let work injuries happen as a result of proper safety precautions. They want justice for the people.

Many North Carolina employees are affected daily as a result of work injury or illness, and should this happen, there should be proper documentation to avoid any future accidents. If an individual were to file a claim against the company that was found negligent in a situation resulting in an accident or work injury, they should have access to other circumstances of the same negligence to help their case proceed with a successful outcome. Workers who are injured on the job may typically file a workers’ compensation claim for financial restitution. Contact a Charlotte work injury lawyer for help today.

Source: Charlotte Observer, OSHA wants safety reports made public, Sam Hananel, Nov. 6, 2013