Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/713205
30 PalletCentral • July-August 2016 palletcentral.com (www.osha.gov/ Publications/poster.html). • An employer's procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be "reasonable" and must not deter or discourage employees from reporting. • An employer may not discharge or otherwise discriminate against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. • An employer may not discriminate against employees for exercising their protected rights under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act (not only I/I reporting, or asking to access I/I records, but also speaking privately to inspectors, lodging safety or health complaints internally or to OSHA, testifying against the company etc.). OSHA has stressed that disciplinary programs that punish all workers who are injured, regardless of fault, or which impose harsher discipline on workers who are injured than is imposed on workers who violate the same safety rule but are uninjured, would be a violation. Workers who are retaliated against in violation of their whistleblower rights have 30 days to file a complaint with OSHA, which will prosecute the case on the employee's behalf and can impose penalties of up to $70,000 (rising to $127,400 effective August 1, 2016) and seek compensatory damages in federal court. PC SAFETY Adele L. Abrams is an attorney and safety professional who represents companies in litigation with OSHA and also provides safety training and consultation. The Law Office of Adele L. Abrams PC has three offices: Beltsville, MD; Denver, CO; and Charleston, WV. Adele can be reached at 301-595-3520 or www.safety-law.com. The outcome of the e-Recordkeeping initiative will be the creation of the largest, publicly available, data set on occupational injuries and illnesses, more study of injur y causation, and evaluation of the effectiveness of I/I prevention activities.