Pub. 1 2018-2019 |Issue 4

25 employees don’t have the authority to change anything, or are actively encour- aged to stay silent if they see a dangerous situation. An employee who feels pow- erless is not going to be motivated to advocate for change unless the conse- quences are obvious and immediate, which might occur if the employee realizes that ignoring a situation might actually cause them to die that day. Un- fortunately, that depends on employees recognizing the dangers they face and being supported by their managers in refusing to place themselves in danger. The following factors can decrease work- place safety: • Alcohol: 11 percent of the workplace fatalities that are recorded are caused by drinking. Alcoholic employees are almost three time more likely to be absent because of injuries than their peers. Many adult employees drink, but drinking is especially common in the mining industry (17.5 percent) and the construction industry (16.5 percent). • Drug abuse: The Department of Justice has determined that approximately half of all accidents in the workplace are caused by illicit drug abuse. Three industries have a particular problem with drug abuse: accommodations and food services (19.1 percent), entertain- ment (13.7 percent), and management (12.7 percent). Keep in mind that drug abuse causes accidents, but it also provides a motivation for employees to steal in order to get the money to buy more drugs. The Department of Justice estimates that 50 percent of all workplace accidents and as much as 40 percent of employee theft are caused by drug abuse. • Mental illness: Approximately 9.5 per- cent of all adults have problems with some form of depression. Experts esti- mate that untreated cases of depression in employees can cause employers to lose approximately $100 billion every year. Depression is considered to be a disability, which means it is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employees are entitled to reduce the number of hours they work and have their responsibilities changed in order to help them recover more quickly. They can also sometimes get permis- sion to work from home. • Toxic chemicals: The eighth largest cause of death in the U.S. is exposure to hazardous chemicals. Toxic chemicals can also cause chronic illness. As many as 32 million workers are exposed to toxic chemicals on a regular basis. Workplace safety has improved since 1970, when 38 employees died at work every day in the U.S. because of unsafe working conditions. However, even as recently as 2014, 13 employees died every day. These statistics make it plain that even though conditions and policies are better than they were, there is still a great deal of work to be done. The government has created laws that place the responsibility for workplace safety on employers. Employers are legally required to do the following: • Warn employees about potential hazards by using color codes, labels, and signs. • Schedule regular maintenance of tools and equipment. • Provide adequate training to every employee in order to avoid accidents and mistakes. The training needs to be presented simply and clearly so that everyone can understand. • Update operating procedures regularly in order to make them more effective. • Keep a record of work-related illnesses and injuries. • Put up the OSHA poster, or whatever the state requires instead, in a place where employees can easily see it. The government has created laws that place the responsibility for workplace safety on employers.