205071 Persistence of Employers' “Blame-the-Worker” Safety Programs (What Keeps a Dead Horse From Lying Down) and Strategies for Eliminating Harmful Programs

Monday, November 9, 2009: 3:30 PM

Nancy Lessin, MS , United Steelworkers - Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety and Environmental Education, Boston, MA
  
Employers' blame-the-worker behavioral safety policies, programs and practices have been around for decades and continue to be omnipresent in today's workplaces, nationally and internationally. This presentation will examine employer incentives to implement and maintain programs that blame workers for job injuries/illnesses and discourage them from reporting symptoms, injuries and illnesses; review workplace strategies that have been successful in eliminating these programs and refocusing attention on efforts that identify, eliminate, reduce and prevent hazards and hazardous workplace conditions; and discuss government policies that could support these efforts.

Learning Objectives:
1. Explain employer incentives to under-report workplace injuries and illnesses 2. Discuss the “blame culture” and employer practices that discourage workers from reporting injuries and illnesses 3. Describe negative consequences from injury/illness underreporting 4. Assess results of surveys conducted by several unions in 2009 to characterize injury/illness underreporting and its consequences 5. Formulate strategies to address the underreporting of workplace injuries and illnesses.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been presenting educational programs on occupational safety and health for over 30 years, including presentations on underreporting of workplace injuries and illnesses. I have helped to design and analyze worker surveys describing employer policies, practices and programs that discourage workers from reporting injuries and illnesses. I served for five years on the National Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, advising OSHA and NIOSH on their policies and programs.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Confronting Practices that Discourage Injury and Illness Reporting
See more of: Occupational Health and Safety