labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Both employers and employees should realize how important it is to protect Utah worker safety. No employee wants to be injured or killed on the job. No employer wants to have an employee injured or killed. But workplace injuries aren’t rare. Millions of workplace accidents are investigated each year by the U.S. Occupational and Health Administration.

Workplace accidents can cost employees and employers alike. Wages are lost, medical bills can be expensive, time at work is missed, and lawsuits may result. The last full year for which statistics were available is 2005. That year, 4,214,200 workplace accidents were reported nationwide. One repercussion of these accidents is that employees missed 1,234,700 workdays. Sadly, 5,702 employees died as the result of workplace accidents.

These numbers don’t portray the entire picture. The statistics do not include injuries to employees of non-profit organizations. Nor do these figures include the injuries to government employees, firefighters, paramedics, and police officers.

Utah worker safety is overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also known as OSHA. This organization stresses the importance of employee education in reducing and preventing workplace accidents.

OSHA has a tool that can help employers promote employee safety. The OSHA Workplace Safety Pack has information that is easy-to-understand and explains ways in which employees can prevent certain injuries. Included in the OSHA Workplace Safety Pack is information about workplace ergonomics, a Slips, Trips, and Falls poster, a Lifting Safely poster, and a Workplace Safety Tips poster.

Teaching employees techniques to prevent injuries and accidents is vital. For instance, the number of tears, sprains, and strains suffered by employees totaled 503,530. Moreover, 270,890 back injuries were reported. In addition, 255,750 employees fell when they were at work.
 
Many people may not be aware that falls, slips, and trips in the workplace can result in fatalities. Only accidents that occur while employees are driving result in more deaths than trips, falls, and slips.

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