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The General Duty Clause
When Congress enacted the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, it intended to impose two complementary duties on an employer. The first was an employer's legal obligation to keep its workplace free from recognized hazards, likely to cause death or serious physical harm to its employees, for which a feasible means of abatement existed. (Section 5(a)(1)) This has come to be referred to as the "General Duty Clause." The second legal obligation which Congress imposed on an employer was its duty to comply with specific health and safety standards promulgated by OSHA after notice-and-comment rulemaking. Citations for violation of the General Duty Clause are issued when the four components of this provision are present, and when no specific OSHA standard has been promulgated to address the recognized hazard. These four elements are: 1) the employer failed to keep his workplace free of a "hazard"; 2) the hazard was "recognized" either by the cited employer individually or by the employer's industry generally; 3) the recognized hazard was causing or was likely to cause death or serious physical harm; and 4) there was a feasible means available that would eliminate or materially reduce the hazard. It should be noted that whether or not guidelines exist, an employer is still subject to the same legal requirements of Section 5(a)(1); an employer's duty will arise only when the four elements are present. Conversely, even in the presence of guidelines which offer a specific means of abatement for a recognized hazard found in an employer's workplace, the employer need not abate the hazard by the means suggested in the guidelines. Rather, an employer is always free to choose its own method of abatement.
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Did You Know?
There are those who cannot sue for wrongful death.
A family member cannot sue another family member for wrongful death.
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News about Wrongful Death cases in Kansas and nationwide:
Effect Of OSH Act On State Remedies
You also express the concern that these guidelines will establish a new standard of care for personal injury or wrongful death tort suits: "In addi... Read more >
Definition:
Conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm.
Class action
Definition:
When different persons combine their lawsuits because the facts and the defendant are so similar. This is designed to save Court time and to allow one judge to hear all the cases at the same time and to make one decision binding on all parties. Class action lawsuits would typically occur after a plane or train accident where all the victims would sue the transport company together in a class action suit. Recent class actions have occurred against tobacco companies.
Sanction
Definition:
A penalty or punishment provided as a means of enforcing obedience to a law, rule or code; also, an authorization.
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