In the United States, OSHA holds companies and employers responsible for safety and health violations rather than the employees themselves. Workers operating without proper safety equipment can cause trouble for their employers but not themselves, even though they are the ones who committed the violation. This is not the case universally, however, or even throughout all of North America – workers in some Canadian provinces have been fined for their individual safety violations since 2013.
Some feel that switching to the Canadian system would be beneficial for business, freeing employers from the need to micromanage the working habits of their employees so as to avoid fines and citations. However, this system might serve to lessen the motivation of employers to provide health and safety training since individual infractions would fall on the employees and not themselves.
No matter who is held personally responsible, workers failing to follow proper health and safety guidelines put themselves and others nearby in serious danger because of their negligence. If workers were individually fined for being lax with their safety gear, this would likely reduce rates of avoidable injuries from complications due to unpreparedness. The idea is a good one in theory, but it is possible that the theory will not hold up in real life. It also would relieve employers from liability for environments where workers had not been properly trained on the use of this safety gear, and the real cause of the negligence would become a legal issue rather than a safety one.
The distinction between what qualifies as a personal crime and what as a systemic or company-wide failure can be difficult to navigate. Increased scrutiny on all ends of the citation/fine distribution policy can help keep employers and their employees safe, before and after an inspector’s visit. What do you think – should companies, individuals, or both, be held responsible for safety infractions? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
