Risk Management Safety Insight
ROGUE SUPERVISOR: FEDERAL COURT REJECTS OSHA'S ATTEMPT TO CREATE STRICT EMPLOYER LIABILITY.
It is well recognized that employer knowledge is required for OSHA to establish a violation. Under most circumstances, this element can be satisfied when a supervisor, manager or foreman, who are agents of the employer, witnesses an employee exposed to a hazard, but does nothing about it. But what happens when the supervisor, manager, or foreman is the individual violating OSHA's regulations?
The article below examines a recent Federal Court of Appeal's decision rejecting OSHA's interpretation, and how that decision may affect OSHA's ability to prove a violation in the first place as well as the employer's ability to prove unavoidable supervisor misconduct affirmative defense.
