Construction Safety

Construction Safety

1. In California,

medical care costs for back injuries are 43 percent higher when part of a workers’

compensation claim than when part of a group medical insurance plan. Critics of workers’ compensation

claim that this difference can be attributed to abuse of the system by

both injured employees and their

physicians. Proponents of workers’ compensation argue that the higher costs indicate exactly the

opposite: that is, under workers’ compensation, injured employees are receiving more and better

(hence more costly) medical ca

re. They claim that group medical plans are shortchanging employees by

allowing insurance companies to make medical decisions. What is your opinion?

2. Following an order from his supervisor, a carpenter working for Jones Construction Company

removed all

the guardrails from stairwell openings, floor openings, and open

-

sided stairs.

Uncomfortable with this action, the carpenter telephoned his union representative, who, in turn, called

OSHA. Jones Construction Company was fined $15,000 for willful violations

. Jones Construction

Company, in turn, fired the carpenter. Was the firing lawful (under OSHA standards)? Was the action of

the carpenter appropriate (under OSHA standards)?

Construction Safety

1. In California, medical care costs for back injuries are 43 percent higher when part of a workers’

compensation claim than when part of a group medical insurance plan. Critics of workers’ compensation

claim that this difference can be attributed to abuse of the system by both injured employees and their

physicians. Proponents of workers’ compensation argue that the higher costs indicate exactly the

opposite: that is, under workers’ compensation, injured employees are receiving more and better

(hence more costly) medical care. They claim that group medical plans are shortchanging employees by

allowing insurance companies to make medical decisions. What is your opinion?

2. Following an order from his supervisor, a carpenter working for Jones Construction Company

removed all the guardrails from stairwell openings, floor openings, and open-sided stairs.

Uncomfortable with this action, the carpenter telephoned his union representative, who, in turn, called

OSHA. Jones Construction Company was fined $15,000 for willful violations. Jones Construction

Company, in turn, fired the carpenter. Was the firing lawful (under OSHA standards)? Was the action of

the carpenter appropriate (under OSHA standards)?