Information Quality and Workplace Safety

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole-Kristian Hope ◽  
Danye Wang ◽  
Heng Yue ◽  
Jianyu Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Injury Rates ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Exogenous Shocks ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Prior Literature

This paper examines the effect of internal information quality on workplace safety. Using establishment-level data on workplace injuries from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and employing a strict fixed-effects structure, we show that higher information quality is associated with significantly lower work-related injury rates. Further investigation reveals that the effect is stronger when more decision rights reside in headquarters, weaker when employees have greater bargaining power, and weaker when firms are subject to financial constraints. Our findings are robust to the use of two plausibly exogenous shocks and other robustness checks. Our study suggests an important economic consequence of information quality not examined by prior literature.

scholarly journals Regulation by Shaming: Deterrence Effects of Publicizing Violations of Workplace Safety and Health Laws

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 1866-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Improve Compliance ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Health Regulations

Publicizing firms’ socially undesirable actions may enhance firms’ incentives to avoid such actions. In 2009, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began issuing press releases about facilities that violated safety and health regulations. Using quasi-random variation arising from a cutoff rule OSHA followed, I find that publicizing a facility’s violations led other facilities to substantially improve their compliance and experience fewer occupational injuries. OSHA would need to conduct 210 additional inspections to achieve the same improvement in compliance as achieved with a single press release. Evidence suggests that employers improve compliance to avoid costly responses from workers. (JEL J28, J81, K32, L51, M54)

Managing Workplace Safety and Health

2013 ◽  
pp. 512-536
Author(s):  
Thomas Kniesner ◽  
John D. Leeth
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Economic Incentive ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Safety And Health

This entry explicates how market forces incent managers to be concerned with worker health and safety. It also notes how supplementing market forces are government actions intended to improve work-related health and safety. These include the legal system under tort laws, states’ workers’ compensation insurance Programs, research into the causes of health hazards at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the federal government’s workplace regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). An important empirical conclusion emerging is that the labor market, via the additional compensation workers require for exposure to health and safety risks, provides the largest economic incentive for managers making workplace decisions involving worker health-related well being.

scholarly journals A descriptive analysis of 2020 California Occupational Safety and Health Administration COVID-19-related complaints

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn D Thomas ◽  
Ellicott C Matthay ◽  
Kate A Duchowny ◽  
Alicia R Riley ◽  
Harmon Khela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
California Department ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Per Capita

COVID-19 mortality disproportionately affected specific occupations and industries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protects the health and safety of workers by setting and enforcing standards for working conditions. Workers may file OSHA complaints about unsafe conditions. Complaints may indicate poor workplace safety during the pandemic. We evaluated COVID-19-related complaints filed with California (Cal)/OSHA between January 1, 2020 and December 14, 2020 across seven industries. To assess whether workers in occupations with high COVID-19-related mortality were also most likely to file Cal/OSHA complaints, we compared industry-specific per-capita COVID-19 confirmed deaths from the California Department of Public Health with COVID-19-related complaints. Although 7,820 COVID-19-related complaints were deemed valid by Cal/OSHA, only 627 onsite inspections occurred and 32 citations were issued. Agricultural workers had the highest per-capita COVID-19 death rates (402 per 100,000 workers) but were least represented among workplace complaints (44 per 100,000 workers). Health Care workers had the highest complaint rates (81 per 100,000 workers) but the second lowest COVID-19 death rate (81 per 100,000 workers). Industries with the highest inspection rates also had high COVID-19 mortality. Our findings suggest complaints are not proportional to COVID-19 risk. Instead, higher complaint rates may reflect worker groups with greater empowerment, resources, or capacity to advocate for better protections. This capacity to advocate for safe workplaces may account for relatively low mortality rates in potentially high-risk occupations. Future research should examine factors determining worker complaints and complaint systems to promote participation of those with the greatest need of protection.

A National Overview of Youth andInjury Trends on U.S. Farms, 2001-2014

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Kitty J. Hendricks ◽  
Scott A. Hendricks ◽  
Larry A. Layne
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
List Type ◽  
Injury Rates ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Hazardous Environments ◽  
Farm Injuries ◽  
Injury Burden ◽  
Rate Ratios ◽  
Household Farm

Highlights The total number of injuries to all youth on farms consistently declined during the 14-year period from 2001 to 2014. Injuries to household farm youth, after initial declines, increased in 2012 and 2014. Although progress in farm youth safety has been made, farms continue to be hazardous places for youth. Abstract. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted injury surveillance for youth on U.S. farms for two decades to measure childhood injury burden, track injury trends, and monitor hazardous injury exposures. The Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS), a regionally stratified telephone survey, collected injury and demographic data for all youth less than 20 years of age on U.S. farms. Results from the 2014 survey are provided. Trend analyses for all survey years were conducted using a Poisson regression model with generalized estimating equations. Rate ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated from the model. In 2014, there were an estimated 11,942 youth farm injuries. Of these, 63% occurred to household youth. Youth between the ages of 10 and 15 incurred the most injuries, and 34% of the injuries were work-related. The total number of injuries to all youth on farms consistently declined during the 14-year period from 2001 to 2014, with annual injury rates ranging from 13.5 to 5.7 per 1,000 farms. The injury rates for household youth decreased through 2009 but increased slightly in 2012 and 2014. Farms continue to be hazardous environments for youth. Although there has been a significant decrease in the overall numbers and rates of youth farm injuries over the past decades, researchers should continue to monitor areas that remain a concern. One area that is specifically troublesome is the increase in injury rates observed for household youth in 2014. Keywords: Agriculture, Farm, Injury, Trends, Youth.

Recent Developments in Health Law

1994 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-92
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Bloodborne Pathogens ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Safety And Health

In American Dental Association v. Martin, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed a challenge to a rule of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In December, 1991, OSHA passed a standard to protect health care workers from viruses transmitted by blood—bloodborne pathogens—including the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the human immunodeficiency virus, the virus known to cause AIDS. Three health care organizations, whose members are dentists, medical personnel firms, and home health employers, petitioned the court to review OSHA's rule.The Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed to assure employees that they would have as safe and healthy a working environment as feasible. Congress sought to ensure this by vesting the Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health with the authority to promulgate mandatory safety and health standards. In promulgating standards concerning toxic materials or harmful physical agents, the secretary sets rules that most adequately assure that an employee will not suffer a material impairment of health or functional capacity while performing work-related duties.

Does Analyst Coverage Affect Workplace Safety?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Bradley ◽  
Connie X. Mao ◽  
Chi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Conference Calls ◽  
Injury Rates ◽  
Internal Governance ◽  
Analyst Coverage ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Work Related ◽  
External Monitoring ◽  
Internal Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Employee Welfare

We find firms’ work-related injury rates are negatively associated with the level of analyst coverage. This result is also robust at the establishment level at which we find local analysts have a more profound impact than distant analysts. Cross-sectionally, our results are exacerbated in firms with weak internal governance mechanisms and in industries with low union representation. Finally, management is more likely to discuss safety issues during earnings conference calls in the presence of more analysts. Overall, our results suggest analysts play an effective external monitoring role and have a subtle yet important impact on employee welfare. This paper was accepted by Brian Bushee, accounting.

Using Behavioral Based Safety to Enhance Safety Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Jamil Fazilov ◽  
Ahmed Senouci ◽  
Hassan Al-Derham
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Near Miss ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Injury Rates ◽  
Near Misses ◽  
Job Site

 Safety in the construction industry has progressed exponentially in the last century. The development of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) may be seen as a major milestone for work place safety. However, the first stages of OSHA were reactive. In the early 2000’s, companies placed aggressive focus on the application of proactive measures in preventing incidents rather than simply reacting. Risk Assessments, Constructability Reviews, and Hazard Identifications were few of the best practices implemented in this time period. Experts now believe the implementation of a Behavioral Based Safety Program (BBS) is the next revolutionary technique to help decrease injury rates further. Several studies were conducted which exhibit a correlation between effective BBS implementation and OSHA classified recordable injury rates. However, there are no previous studies identifying correlation between BBS implementation versus Near Misses, and BBS implementation versus OSHA classified First Aid Cases. This paper helps identify whether BBS implementation on a typical Petrochemical/refinery construction project impacts the number of Near Misses and First Aid Cases. BBS was implemented on 14 different construction projects within Technip, collecting all BBS and incident data, and applying different analysis techniques to identify existing trends between BBS observations/First Aids Cases/Near Misses.  It helps identify whether BBS improves the safety performance on a job site by identifying its impact on injuries, in addition to Near Miss reporting. The paper will assist similar companies with evaluating whether the implementation of a BBS program yields favorable results to the safe performance of their projects.

scholarly journals The Occupational Safety and Health Administration at 50: Protecting Workers in a Changing Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Michaels ◽  
Jordan Barab
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Work Injuries ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Setting Process ◽  
Changing Economy ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 brought unprecedented changes in US workplaces, and the activities of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have contributed to a significant reduction in work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses. Despite this, millions of workers are injured annually, and thousands killed. To reduce the toll, OSHA needs greater resources, a new standard-setting process, increased civil and criminal penalties, full coverage for all workers, and stronger whistleblower protections. Workers should not be injured or made sick by their jobs. To eliminate work injuries and illnesses, we must remake and modernize OSHA and restructure the relationship of employers and workers with the agency and each other. This includes changing the expectation of what employers must do to protect workers and implementing a requirement that firms have a “duty of care” to protect all people who may be harmed by their activities. Only by making major changes can we ensure that every worker leaves work as healthy as they were when their work shift began.

Evaluating Sharps Safety Devices Meeting OSHA's Intent

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 456-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Pugliese ◽  
Teresa P. Germanson ◽  
Judene Bartley ◽  
Judith Luca ◽  
Lois Lamerato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Needlestick Injury ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Product Evaluations ◽  
Injury Rates ◽  
Safety Devices ◽  
Valid Comparison ◽  
Injury Protection ◽  
Sharps Injury

AbstractThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard and, on July 17, 2001, began enforcing the use of appropriate and effective sharps devices with engineered sharps-injury protection. OSHA requires employers to maintain a sharps-injury log that records, among other items, the type and brand of contaminated sharps device involved in each injury. Federal OSHA does not require needlestick injury rates to be calculated by brand or type of device. A sufficient sample size to show a valid comparison of safety devices, based on injury rates, is rarely feasible in a single facility outside of a formal research trial. Thus, calculations of injury rates should not be used by employers for product evaluations to compare the effectiveness of safety devices. This article provides examples of sample-size requirements for statistically valid comparisons, ranging from 100,000 to 4.5 million of each device, depending on study design, and expected reductions in needlestick injury rates.

scholarly journals Women’s occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and risk of breast cancer

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrick G Lee ◽  
Igor Burstyn ◽  
Agnes S Lai ◽  
Anne Grundy ◽  
Melissa C Friesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Family History ◽  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pah Exposure

ObjectiveTo estimate the association between occupational polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure and female breast cancer.MethodsLifetime work histories for 1130 cases and 1169 controls from British Columbia and Ontario (Canada) were assessed for PAH exposure using a job-exposure matrix based on compliance measurements obtained during US Occupational Safety and Health Administration workplace safety inspections.ResultsExposure to any level of PAHs was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (OR=1.32, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.59), as was duration at high PAH exposure (for >7.4 years: OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.91; ptrend=0.01), compared with women who were never exposed. Increased risk of breast cancer was most strongly associated with prolonged duration at high occupational PAH exposure among women with a family history of breast cancer (for >7.4 years: OR=2.79, 95% CI: 1.25 to 6.24; ptrend<0.01).ConclusionsOur study suggests that prolonged occupational exposure to PAH may increase breast cancer risk, especially among women with a family history of breast cancer.

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