Regardless of the industry in which you earn your income in Georgia, you will most likely face numerous occupational hazards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandates that your employer must protect you from known dangers and take reasonable steps to mitigate them. The question is whether your boss practices proactive or reactive safety protocols.
If your employer is proactive in establishing safety measures, then you and your co-workers are less likely than most other members of the Georgia workforce to suffer severe workplace injuries.
How does proactive and reactive safety differ?
Does your boss wait for incidents to happen before reacting, or is he or she prepared as much as possible beforehand? If employers are prepared to their best ability when something unexpected happens, they are proactive. However, if they only take steps after a workplace accident occurs, the safety culture at your workplace is reactive. A proactive employer will assess potential hazards and establish safety solutions to prevent-or at least minimize-the occurrence of adverse incidents.
Why is communication about safety crucial?
You and your co-workers experience the hazards of your job firsthand. Therefore, your input regarding potential risks and improved safety measures could be invaluable. A proactive employer will arrange frequent safety meeting to allow the workforce to discuss safety issues and potential measures and procedures aimed at preventing injuries and illnesses.
Risk identification and assessment
Another sign of a proactive employer is one who encourages workers to identify risks and implements the following:
● Teaching and training of workers that improves their ability to efficiently identify any risks unique to their individual tasks
● Assessing the risk level and likelihood of any identified hazards potentially causing physical harm to the employees
● Risk assessments of any new equipment or new processes before they are put into action
● Scheduled general risk assessments across the facility.
Where to turn for help
If your employer prioritizes the bottom line instead of workplace safety, the odds become much higher that you could end up spending more time learning about your workers’ compensation benefits than about risk assessment. However, even if your boss is proactive, the potential for a myriad of workplace accidents still probably exists. If you were the victim of any type of work-related incident, an experienced workers’ compensation attorney can provide valuable support and guidance in your pursuit of the maximum amount of benefits to which you are entitled.
