Pennsylvania residents may be interested in learning that the solicitor of labor’s office stated that it was committed to keeping work environments safe for employees. The solicitor’s office, which assists the U.S. Department of Labor, will work to help the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s goals.
The deputy of the solicitor’s office said that the number of workplace accidents and illnesses was sobering. In 2015, for example, more than 4,836 workers were killed. The numbers boiled down to 13 deaths every single day and 93 deaths per week. During the same year, there were more than 3 million injuries and illnesses reported, ranging from cancer and burns to amputations. While the number of injuries and fatalities that occurred in 2015 were bad enough, they also resulted in more than 902,000 days off the job.
While the solicitor’s office’s priority is to enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Act, they have finite resources to do so. In order to accomplish their goal, they need to be strategic. As such, the solicitor’s office has listed their key priority as being employer outreach. Employers who are repeat offenders and willfully violate the OSH Act will be levied with large fines.
When workers sustain injuries at their jobs because their employers failed to follow OSHA standards, they may be eligible to seek workers’ compensation benefits to cover the cost of their injuries. If their claims are denied, however, an employment attorney may assist them with filing appeals. A lawyer may endeavor to maximize the amount that a person receives, which can include compensation to cover his or her medical costs and a portion of the income that he or she lost due to being unable to work. If the claim is denied yet again, an attorney may represent an injured worker in court.