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OSHA Testing Can Reduce Employer Liability, Saves Companies Money

On December 17, 2012 Author By Wolfe Guest
       

This guest post was contributed by Joseph A. Ginarte. He is a specialist New York accident lawyer and the proprietor of the Ginarte Law firm. He enjoys writing and sharing his insights on various legal blogs.

Every day, more than twelve workers die on the job, which adds up to a total of 4,500 worker fatalities each year. Another 4.1 million workers suffer serious injury or illness related to their jobs, according to a white paper published by Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor (OSHA).While it’s not possible to prevent every accident, the need to promote safety in the workplace is obvious. Programs designed to prevent workplace injury and illness are well established in countries like Canada, Australia, Norway, Japan, Korea and all the 27 member states of he European Union.  In addition 15 states in the United States, including California, require such programs.

Yet many business owners resist mandatory workplace inspections and tighter safety regulations imposed by OSHA. Conventional wisdom claims that safety testing and workplace regulations, such as those imposed represent a job-killing financial drain on businesses. However, the results of a study conducted in May 2012 by researchers at the Harvard Business School, the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and Boston University soundly refute those assertions. In fact, the study shows that OSHA testing can actually result in significant savings for companies along with reducing company liability.

Reduced Employer Liability

According to the study, workplaces in high hazard industries that had been subject to random OSHA inspections reported a reduction of 9.4 percent in injury claims. This reduction in claims translated to savings of 26 percent in workers’ compensation costs in the four years following the inspections.  These figures were compiled in comparison with a similar number of uninspected companies in the same high hazard industries.

Significant Savings

The average savings to companies that had undergone OSHA inspections was $355,000 US, according to the study. Further, savings were realized in workers’ compensation claims as small as $2,000 US as well as much larger.  The study also found absolutely no evidence that workplace inspections had a negative impact on company profits.

In their original report, the researchers estimated that if the conditions of the study were duplicated across the entire country, the potential savings could total as much as $6 billion US to employers and employees, when compensation for pain and suffering are excluded. However, as a result of more recent research, the study’s researchers revised their estimate of savings upward in June 2012, from $6 billion US to $20 billion US.

Objective Measurements

The study was able to overcome design and bias flaws present in earlier studies by taking advantage of a 1993 California mandate that requires the California division of OSHA to conduct random workplace inspections. The study looked ad companies that were randomly inspected between 1996 and 2006, along with a similar number of companies that were not inspected. The number of injuries recorded from both groups of companies was drawn from worker compensation claims and other independent sources. By contrast, previous studies of this type had not used random data. Instead, all of the workplaces studied had been the site of a workplace accident or complaint. The information was drawn from OSHA logs, which often become more detailed as time passes.

 

For Further Reading

  • Harvard Business School: New Study Shows That Workplace Inspections Save Lives, Don’t Destroy Jobs
    hbs.edu/news/releases/toffelscience051712.html
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Injury and Illness Prevention Programs – White Paper
    osha.gov/dsg/topics/safetyhealth/OSHAwhite-paper-january2012sm.pdf
Posted in:    Regulations, Safety   /  Tags: ,   /   Leave a comment

Mediation! New Service Available at Wolfe Law

On December 8, 2012 Author By Seth Smiley
       

Seth J. Smiley, partner at Wolfe Law Group, LLC and author of ConstructionLawMonitor.com is now a formally trained mediator. New Orleans just hosted the AAAU’s (American Arbitration Association University), Essential Skills for the New Mediator workshop in downtown, hosted by Neil Carmichael.

Why would parties want to mediate a dispute instead of going to court? That answer is easy, yet has many factors. The most important are that mediation is less expensive and much more efficient compared to litigation. But the most important factor is that the parties control their own outcome, rather than a group of strangers (jury).

So if you are in a dispute and are looking for an economical, logical and swift conclusion that is mutually agreeable between you and your adversary, then mediation may be just what you are looking for. Contact the Wolfe Law Group, LLC for more details.

Posted in:    About Our Services, Arbitration & ADR, Business Matters, California, Collections, Construction News, Disputes, Green Building, Insurance, Litigation, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington   /  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

California Civil Procedure Series – How to File Suit

On October 16, 2012 Author By Seth Smiley
       

As an attorney in multiple states (California and Louisiana) there are many overlapping rules and theory of law that are transferable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. However, there are many local and state wide idiosyncrasies that are not necessarily taught in law school or not easily attainable for pro se or pro per litigants. This post has some helpful tips regarding filing a law suit.

California is a jurisdiction of forms. The State Bar has gone to great lengths to make a form for just about any situation. In that same light there are many that overlap and you nearly need a law degree just to navigate through the long list. The California Courts also have very helpful information regarding the legal process and all of the different procedural devices used by lawyers.

A typical checklist for items needed when you file your civil case are 1) Complaint, 2) Civil Cover Sheet, 3) Summons, and 4) Receipt and Acknowledgement. The complaint is your main document to be filed. This is where the Plaintiff lists out all of the facts and causes of action that related to the allegations being asserted in the suit. The complaint is the lawsuit itself and will be a part of the public record. The Civil Cover Sheet is a mandatory form that needs to accompany any new filing. This tells the clerk what type of case is being filed. Next is the Summons. This document tells the court and the opposition who is being sued and what that person/entity’s legal rights are with regard to an answer. Lastly is a handy little form that I like to include called Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt. This form allows for you to mail serve the Summons and Complaint on your adversary saving time and money. If the defendant does not reply within 20 days, it will be obligated to pay for your service fees. The normal delay to respond to a suit is 30 days.

Once you get your complaint filed you will want to serve your adversary with the documents to complete the process. You can use the Notice form listed above but if that fails then you will have to hire a process server to get the suit to the defendant. Regardless of how you serve them the clerk of court requires proof of service. This too is another form, Proof of Service of Summons. This helpful form has a long check list of methods of possible service. You make sure you followed one of the statutory required methods, file your proof and then your law suit has formally begun. You then must wait for your adversary to answer.

This blog post is a part of the California Civil Procedure Series written by Wolfe Law Group. You should contact an attorney when dealing with procedure issues as there are strict time limitations which need to be followed.

Posted in:    About Our Services, Business Matters, California, Construction News, Dispute A Lien, Disputes, From The Experts, Litigation   /  Tags: , , , , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Tips to Stay Organized: Going Back to the Basics

On September 26, 2012 Author By Wolfe Guest
       

Technology is everywhere. We use it constantly throughout every hour of each day. While it has made our lives easier and more convenient, is it better than a time when we didn’t rely on it so much? Most would agree that yes, it is better, and in many instances that may be true, but in some cases it seems that going back to the basics can be more effective.

A recent article from the American Express Open Forum expresses such an instance. According to the article, “Pen and Paper: Killer Productivity Apps,” studies show that hand-writing notes on paper helps with memory skills and can heighten brain activity. Physically writing things down actually helps us to remember things.

So how can this relate to the construction industry?

To be honest, these tips can be helpful in any industry. If you want to remember something, don’t simply store it in your smartphone or tablet. With the amount of apps and distractions that these devices can hold, your priorities can get cluttered. For contractors and construction workers, project checklists and dates involving project deadlines and lien deadlines are extremely important details that need to be remembered. Write these important notes and dates down, and save them somewhere in which you can be constantly reminded. Simply saving them in technological devices will not always suffice and can easily get overlooked. If deadlines aren’t met or checklists aren’t completed, numerous problems can arise. Stay organized, and write things down to help remember!

For those who must use technology like myself, there are programs like Evernote which allow for storage of all notes and even allow for writing on tablet devices. Evernote is great and I highly recommend and its Evernote Trunk list out all compatible apps where you can find writing applications.

Posted in:    Around The Web, Business Matters, Construction News   /  Tags: , , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

California Civil Procedure Series – Litigation Tips

On September 21, 2012 Author By Seth Smiley
       

Legal ConfusionAs an attorney in multiple states (California and Louisiana) there are many overlapping rules and theory of law that are transferable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. However, there are many local and state wide idiosyncrasies that are not necessarily taught in law school or not easily attainable for pro se or pro per litigants. I felt it appropriate to do this series so that it will help individual litigants, business owners and contractors so that they have a better understanding of only some of the nuances which I have come across.

Topics That I plan to cover include, 1) basic discovery rules, deadlines and concepts; 2) a CA C.C.P. 998 offer of settlement and its impact on litigation, 3) filing and obtaining a default judgment, including CA C.C.P. 1033 declarations and letters of intent, 4) basic filing procedures for a Complaint and subsequent  pleadings including proof of mailing forms.

The purpose of this series is to better educate anyone who gets involved in the legal process. There are a number of resources out there but sometimes simple tasks can be daunting in the legal industry. Other times certain jurisdictions emphasize things that are simply overlooked in others. Lastly, California has a vast network of forms that in theory set out to be helpful yet in the end can send one in a fit of confusion. I will attempt to show some helpful way to navigate that stream of information.

Posted in:    About Our Services, California, Construction News, From The Experts, Litigation   /  Tags: , , , , ,   /   1 Comment
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