Employees in Arizona and throughout the country are entitled to a workplace that is free of safety or health hazards. Federal workplace safety rules are monitored and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Under OSHA rules, employers must keep track of injuries or deaths that occurred on the job. Companies are also required to keep track of any incidents involving workers who were exposed to hazardous materials.
Individuals have the right to refuse to complete a task if there is reason to believe that doing so would put their health in imminent jeopardy. However, workers must be able to establish that there was no alternative method of completing a task safely and that their employers wouldn’t fix the hazardous conditions. In addition, it must be shown that there wasn’t enough time to report issues to OSHA or to a state agency.
It is important to note that an employer is still required to mitigate dangerous conditions that don’t pose an immediate threat to an employee. If the problem is not fixed in a timely manner, an employee can file a complaint with OSHA. Employers are not allowed to terminate, demote or otherwise retaliate against those who file complaints. In some cases, individuals who are wrongfully terminated may receive back pay in addition to getting their jobs back.
A person who is hurt at work may be entitled to temporary or permanent workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits may help a person obtain a portion of their lost wages while recovering from a workplace injury or illness. Additionally, a worker is generally entitled to full payment of medical bills related to an injury or illness. An attorney may be able to help a worker file a claim or find out why a claim was denied.
