Legal action Inspectorate

Everyone was asked what legal action inspectors could take and managers, supervisors, and safety representatives were asked if they knew what penalties the courts could impose in the event of a guilty verdict for occupational health and safety offences. Let us consider first their knowledge of the legal action inspectors could take. Chart 4.3 reveals that the ability to respond to the question at all was very much influenced by a respondent s position in the hierarchy. Table 4.1 details the replies of those who did feel able to respond to the question. 

Chart 4.3. The social dimensions of knowledge knowledge of legal action inspectors could take... 

Table 4.1. Knowledge of legal action inspectors can take...

While all such enforcement actions may be appealed in the Federal Court, it is usually only the last of these, forced product withdrawal, that justifies the time, expense, and uncertainty of such legal action. Drug products usually remain off the market under temporary injunction while such proceedings take place, and this prolonged period per se is often sufficient to kill the product for economic reasons. The more serious of these enforcement actions is also punishable with prison terms and fines under the Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act. A large inspectorate is distributed throughout the USA and around the world as part of FDA s enforcement arm. 

It can help if an HSE Inspector questions the company s precautions or if the company becomes involved in any legal action. It shows that the company has done what the law requires. 

But non-compliance with codes or regulations can expose a company to legal action even in the absence of any harm to a worker. Health and safety officers and worker safety representatives can call in inspectors who can impose prohibition and improvement notices on companies. These notices not only raise the spectre of... 

The responses confuse the legal action that could be initiated by inspectors and the legal sanctions that could be imposed by the courts. Interestingly only one respondent referred to disciplinary procedures , which suggests that respondents recognized the difference between legal sanctions and disciplinary procedures. 

The organization of the Railway Inspectorate has changed quite considerably since this research and consequently there has been a shift in objectives. This is reflected, for example, in their use of legal action (see below). The purpose of this chapter, however, is to concentrate on the research period. More recent developments are discussed in Chapter 11. 

Table 5.4. Frequency with which managers and supervisors thought Railway Inspectorate initiated legal action...

I Is legal action from the Inspectorate something that worries you ... 

The area where senior officials gave the most accurate answers was information about what led Railway Inspectorate to initiate legal action ... 

Is legal action something that worries you when an inspector visits ... 

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