New York workplaces have a responsibility to keep workers safe. Employers must do everything they can to follow safety regulations and avoid workplace accidents. While most workplaces take pride in keeping their workers safe and following these safety rules, there are those that continually ignore safety regulations. These workplaces put workers at risk time and time again. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has created a program for these types of workplaces called the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
In the SVEP employers that have shown that they are unwilling or unable to follow workplace safety rules are closely monitored. Workplaces in this program have committed willful and repeated violations of OSHA regulations. Once a workplace is in this program, the workplace is subject to increased monitoring from OSHA. They also can be subject to harsh penalties and enforcement actions for violating safety rules.
Once in this program, there are mandatory follow-up inspections for the company. They also have increased OSHA presence and enforcement of safety rules. Additionally, there are corporate wide agreements and settlement provisions that can be put into place to help keep workers safe. In some cases, Federal courts may even be able to step in to enforce OSHA regulations for these companies.
The SVEP is a way to help keep workers safe when employers fail to take precautions on their own. However even with these precautions, all workplace accidents will not be avoided. In these cases, workers may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits as a result of workplace injuries. In these cases, workers should understand their legal right to compensation. An attorney can help to explain these rights and help them to obtain workers’ compensation benefits.