Occupational Hazards & Workers’ Compensation

Employees have the right to know about chemicals and other hazardous materials used in the workplace.

There are two laws that deal specifically with an employee's "right to know", designed to help improve the health of the workplace.

1. OSHA Medical Access Regulation -The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Medical Access Regulation
gives employees the right to review their medical records held by the company.

Under this law, employees can also obtain information about air quality and the types of chemicals used in the workplace. Detailed chemical information is found by obtaining a "Material Safety Data Sheet," or MSDS.

Chemical manufacturers provide an employer with an MSDS. If you work with chemicals, your employer should have this information on file. Your doctor should also have this information if you suspect a chemically induced illness or disease.

Chemical producers must provide an MSDS when they make a sale. The sheet contains the chemical or compound name (sometimes combined with a common name), the ingredients, the concentration of ingredients, physical properties, exposure hazards and first aid treatment.

The law entitles you to copies of this information, should you request it. If a sheet is not available, your company must provide you with the information about the chemical, and/or its ingredients.

Sometimes, the chemical information you seek may be the so-called "company secret". You are still entitled to the information, although the employer may have you sign a confidentiality agreement.

One flaw with the MSDS Access Standard is that it only requires the company to give you the information it has on file. The law does not require the safety information to be up-to-date. Another flaw with the MSDS is that sometimes a sheet will provide a partial list of ingredients.

2. OSHA Hazard Communication Standard - Simply put, this standard intends to make you aware of the chemical hazards at work.

To comply with this standard, your employer must:
  • Inform you about hazardous chemicals and the OSHA rule.
     
  • Have hazardous substances labeled clearly as being hazardous. The warnings should also give the short- and long-term exposure risks (e.g., "skin irritant; long-term exposure is known to cause certain types of skin cancer in laboratory animals").
     
  • Provide, upon request, the MSDS for every hazardous chemical used.
     
  • Outline and provide a written hazard communication standard that explains how your employer is complying with the law.

An important aspect of this safety standard is that it sets training on how to safely handle potentially hazardous chemicals or compounds. Part of that training includes knowing how to read chemical labels and symbols, knowing how to read an MSDS and knowing where to find one.

Report employers who are not following the law to the nearest OSHA office. After OSHA receives the complaint, the employer is subject to inspection. Employers found in violation of the law must follow the rules or face a stiff fine.

If you are injured at work, if your work irritates a pre-existing physical problem, or if you develop a disease or illness from your job, you are entitled to workers' compensation benefits.

Do not permanently lose your right to seek workers' compensation benefits!

Please contact a Munley, Munley & Cartwright Workers' Compensation Lawyer by e-mail or telephone at 1-800-318-LAW1.

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