Since the days of Upton Sinclaire's "The Jungle" ?, workplace injury law has improved to protect workers and repay them for injuries incurred at work. Departments like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have been developed to monitor working conditions and maintain a benchmark level of safety for workers. Not only is your employer responsible for providing a safe workplace, they must support you when you suffer injuries on the job site. OSHA penalizes companies for dangerous working conditions. These are some very strict regulations, and it is a good idea to contact a lawyer if you mean to hold your company responsible for injuries you've suffered. Since its inception in 1971, OSHA has helped to cut workplace fatalities by more than 60 percent and occupational injury and illness rates by 40 percent. In the past, workers had to fend for themselves. People working in dangerous industries were not paid when they had to take time off for injuries, even when the injuries happened at work! These employees who took on extra risk by working difficult and dangerous jobs were not necessarily paid more, so it was often the marginalized members of society such as recent immigrants who were forced to risk their lives daily just to get by. Modern standards, such as those established by OSHA, seek to make this abuse a thing of the past. Workplace injury and abuses still occur, however, especially if you don't know your rights. If you have been injured at work because your employer has not provided appropriate safety measures or you have suffered a workplace injury and were subsequently laid off or not paid for your recovery time, contact a lawyer right away. |
