Philadelphia Workers' Compensation Blog

It is not uncommon to hear about McDonald's employees having to deal with angry customers while at work. Recently, employees have asked OSHA to look into these incidents and how the company has handled them. The workers want the workplace watchdog organization to assess how McDonald's responds to workplace violence in stores throughout Pennsylvania and rest the country. According to the National Employment Law Project, there have been 271 media reports of violence at various locations in the past three years.

However, police records indicate that there are many cases that are not reported. In some cases, employees have been threatened with guns and have had to call 911 for assistance. The workers who have filed the complaint with OSHA say that management has discouraged using 911 as it could have negative consequences for the company. OSHA has recommended that McDonald's take steps to keep workers safe during late night hours.

Falls are the No. 1 cause of fatalities among construction workers throughout Pennsylvania and the rest of the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Every year, an average of 310 construction workers die in falls. Another 10,350 fall victim to fall-related injuries. The majority of falls from scaffolding, roofs and ladders occur in the construction industry.

In the effort to help employers and employees prevent falls, NIOSH has released a fact sheet with several important tips. The most basic are for employers to provide the right training and regular maintenance.

Liberty Mutual has released its Workplace Safety Index for 2019, and the results may be of interest to workers in Pennsylvania, especially those in construction and other blue-collar industries. Every year, the index documents the top 10 causes of the most serious workplace injuries and ranks them according to their direct cost to employers.

Overexertion involving outside sources was to blame for nearly 24% of all serious workplace injuries, costing employers over $13 billion in medical and lost wage payments. This was followed by falls on the same level, which accounted for nearly 19% of injuries and cost employers nearly $10.4 billion. Third were incidents where employees were struck by equipment or other objects; this accounted for 9.4% of injuries and cost employers $5.2 billion.

The rollback of a 2016 OSHA reporting rule is being challenged in federal court by six separate states. The rule change affects large employers, including those in Pennsylvania. The challenge to the rule may affect how states implement health and safety programs for workers.

In the past, large employers were required to maintain records of each workplace injury or work-related illness. The records were to be secured and to be made available to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors upon demand. In 2016, the Obama administration added a further step to the record keeping. It required employers to electronically transmit this information to OSHA annually.