Discrimination against workers

Workers have the right to expect safety and health on the job without fear of punishment. This is spelled out in Section 11(c) of the OSHAct. The law states that employers shall not punish or discriminate against workers for exercising rights such as... 

One of the more extensive laws that can have a definite impact on the safety function is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In a nutsheU, the ADA prohibits discriminating against qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities in all employment settings. For safety professionals, the areas of workers compensation, restricted duty programs, facility modifications, training, and other safety functions are often where the safety function and the ADA may intersect and create duties and responsibilities for the safety professional as well as potential liabilities for the company or organization. 

Layoff and Reduction in Force—Safety professionals should be aware that employees facing a reduction-in-force (RIF) or layoff situation may be more likely to bring a claim of discrimination against the employer if they perceive their selection for the RIF or layoff is done in a discriminatory manner. Safety professionals involved in an RIF or layoff should ensure that their decision-making process is in strict accordance with company policy. (It should be noted that safety professionals should become familiar with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (known as WARN ) as well as the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act (known as OWBPA ) as well as individual state laws when addressing a layoff or RIF situation.)... 

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states do have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination. 

In 1965, the Secretary of Labor reported to Congress that despite these well-established medical facts there is persistent and widespread use of age limits in hiring that in a great many cases can be attributed only to arbitrary discrimination against older workers on the basis of age and regardless of ability. Two... 

Although OSHA does not cite employees for violations of their responsibilities, each worker is required to comply with all applicable occupational safety and health standards. Employees also have the right to ask for safety and health on the job without fear of punishment. If employees are discriminated against for exercising their rights under the Act, OSHA may take the employer to court with no expense to the employees. 

An alternative type of explanation for the specific discrimination against host cell protein synthesis in poliovirus-infected cells stemmed from the observation that initiation of protein synthesis could be selectively inhibited in HeLa cells and in poliovirus-infected HeLa cells by increasing the osmolarity of the growth medium (Sa-borio et al., 1974). The inhibition was independent of the solute used to increase the osmolarity. However, virus-directed protein synthesis was observed to be relatively more resistant to inhibition by hypertonic medium than was cellular protein synthesis, a fact which was interpreted as indicating that initiation of viral RNA translation was intrinsically more efficient than that of cellular mRNA (Nuss et al., 1975). These workers, therefore, proposed that the virus-specific or virus-induced factor involved in suppression of host protein synthesis could function by indiscriminantly lowering the rate of peptide chain initiation. Under such conditions, translation of viral mRNA, when it was synthesized, could occur due to its inherently strong affinity... 

If workers believe that they are discriminated against for exercising their safety and health rights, they should contact the nearest OSHA office within 30 days of the time they sense that discriminatory activity has started. To file a formal complaint a worker should visit, call, or write the nearest OSHA office or state OSHA office, if a state program exists there. If a worker calls or visits, then a written follow-up letter should be sent. This may be the only documentation of a complaint. Complaints should be filed only when the following is occurring ... 

Notification of any worker who has been reprimanded or discriminated against for complaining about the hazard... 

Section 11 provides for the appeal and review of any orders issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). This section also addresses discrimination by the employer against workers who decide to exercise their right to complain formally or informally regarding safety and health issues. 

While OSHA encourages employers to maintain and enforce legitimate workplace safety rules, the Agency is concerned some employers may attempt to use a work rule as a pretext for discrimination against a worker who reports an injury. OSHA will look to see ... 

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