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And That's Not All . . . A New Form of Worker's Compensation?
For employees who miss time from work, the Standard also requires employers to make up wage losses and to provide medical benefits to the extent such items are not paid by worker's compensation. Open question: when will you be able to insure against these losses, and how much will it cost?
What About Violations?
Violations can trigger a $7,000 fine. Repeated or willful offenses can lead to fines of up to $70,000. "Egregious" violations can result in multiplying such fines by the number of incidents involved.
What Does It Mean?
OSHA estimates that it will cost employers $4.5 billion in the first year to comply with the Standard. Other industry groups, such as the Employment Policy Foundation, have estimated the first year costs at $100 billion. These kinds of numbers are as speculative as they are heart-stopping, but what is undeniable is that to prevent lawsuits and liabilities, all companies will be required to commit substantial resources to a battery of new procedures, a new way of thinking, and a lot of management training. The Standard is new and complex, and it requires that still another layer of caution, sensitivity and know-how be inserted into the supervisory practices of all management employees. We were beginning to feel that, through our training firm, we were making substantial inroads in our efforts to train our clients' managers to react to routine situations in ways that do not violate the ADA, the FMLA, the new definitions of sexual harassment and the various laws that pertain to age, race, gender, pregnancy and other forms of prohibited discrimination. Add the Ergonomics Standard to the list. We will all need to confront how all of this multitude of laws will work together. For instance, when an employee with an MSD requires time off, where does the concept of unpaid FMLA leave come into the mix? When an MSD also qualifies as a "disability" under the ADA, what happens then?
We are in the process of finalizing the training programs, forms and procedures for use by our clients who are interested in avoiding the potential liabilities that will result from violations, however innocent they may be. Feel free to contact us if we can be of any help.
Counsel Consulting Group LLC helps companies throughout the United States avoid employment and HR-related claims and liabilities. CCG assesses existing policies, procedures and problem areas; it provides customized liability-avoidance training to managers and executives; and it designs and implements business techniques that reduce employment liability risks on a long term basis. CCG also offers specialized workshops for managers and HR executives, customized consulting in focused employment-related areas, and CD-ROM and web-based training alternatives. For more information, contact us at info@powelltrachtman.com and visit our website at www.counselconsulting.com.
Powell, Trachtman, Logan, Carrle & Lombardo, P.C. is a full service law firm with offices in suburban Philadelphia, PA, Harrisburg, PA and Cherry Hill, NJ. Powell Trachtman represents a variety of commercial enterprises, entrepreneurs and business executives in respect to their litigation, litigation avoidance planning, business formation, business transactions, estate and tax planning, and other needs. We are also approved defense counsel for numerous insurance carriers in matters pertaining to professional malpractice, products liability, employment practices, directors and officers liability, and many other fields. For more information, contact us at info@powelltrachtman.com and visit our website at www.powelltrachtman.com.
