Montana OSHA 300 Form

March 15th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Between February 1st and April 30th the Montana OSHA 300 forms need to remain posted in a prominent area. If you are an employer, you should be familiar with the OSHA 300 form. Every year it is required of you to send statistics to the OSHA about the work related injuries, accidents and illnesses from the prior year. The information also has to be presented somewhere in the workplace so that employees can take a look at it as well.

Over 4.2 million work related accidents were reported nationwide in 2005. With all of these accidents taking place, 1,234,700 days of work were missed. That includes 270,890 back injuries, 255,750 falls, and 503,530 strains and sprains. As awful as that sounds, many accidents on the job also result in the loss of life. In 2005, 5,702 individuals lost their lives due to an accident during work. Of these deaths, 732 were the result of a fall at work. It is a sad and sorry truth.

There are 25 states, including Montana that use the federal OSHA standards as a guideline for companies within the state. Twenty-two of the other states have created their own Occupational Safety and Health Administrations. Normally, very little changes are made when a state decides to establish their own safety organization. Any state regulations need to be approved by the federal OSHA prior to enforcement. State law is required to be just as firm as the federal guidelines for health and safety.

It all comes down to the individual. Improvements in health and safety will only happen as each individual does their best to follow procedures. Using the very best of care considering both your own safety and the safety of others is the only way to have a secure work environment. Hopefully, with fewer and fewer accidents.

No Comments >> Posted in Federal Labor Laws,Health and Safety,Montana,Regulations

State Compliance Requirements for Montana (MT) Employers

September 11th, 2006 Posted by Hannah

Employer posting regulations for the Montana Posters outlining state and federal labor and employment laws require employers to make sure they have current posters posted in a visible location where all of the employees have access to them.  Appropriate places include the work room, break room or mail room.  Other possible places are those where employees tend to gather before, during or after work.  Another thing that employers need to keep in mind is that labor and employment laws frequently change, so they need to make sure that their Montana posters are the most current ones available.

The posting requirements are not just arbitrary laws that the employers need to follow.  The information found on these posters is actually very beneficial to employees and employers alike.  Employees can use the information found on the posters to educate themselves about their rights and responsibilities as they pertain to the state and federal labor laws.  They can also find the contact information for the appropriate state and federal agencies they may need to contact if there is a problem concerning their employment rights.  Employers also benefit because they can use the posters as a reference so that they know exactly what they need to do to make sure they are upholding their employees’ rights within the workplace.  They can also check the information on the poster if they ever have a question about specific laws such as how many hours minors can work or if there are exceptions to the minimum wage law.

The Montana posters need to highlight state and federal laws.  The state laws that employers need to have are those concerning OSHA, minimum wage, discrimination, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation.  The federal laws required are USERRA – Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law, Federal Minimum Wage, Employee Polygraph Protection Act, Family and Medical Leave Act and OSHA – Job Safety and Health Protection.

No Comments >> Posted in Montana