Health and Safety in the Workplace and Product Liability: Key Concepts and Cases

What are safety hazards?

Sudden, violent events resulting in immediate injury, such as loss of limbs, burns, or electrical shock.

What are health hazards?

Factors causing illness through long-term exposure, often without identifiable triggering events.

Give an example of a health hazard.

Cataracts in glassblowers or black lung disease in miners.

What is the OSH Act?

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which moved primary responsibility for workplace safety to the federal government.

What does the 'general duty clause' require of employers?

Employers must furnish workplaces free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious injury.

What are the most common OSHA violations?

Falls protection, hazardous chemical communication, scaffolding, and electrical equipment issues.

What is the ethical basis for the right to a safe workplace?

It follows from the fundamental right of survival.

What is the concept of direct cause in employer liability?

Employers argue that accidents result from a combination of causes, including employee actions.

What is voluntary risk assumption?

The idea that workers in dangerous industries knowingly accept risks in exchange for higher wages.

What challenges exist regarding voluntary risk assumption?

Workers must have sufficient information and their choices must be truly free.

What is coercion in the context of workplace safety?

Getting someone to choose an undesired alternative with a threat of making them worse off.

What is the right to refuse hazardous work?

The right to refuse orders to perform hazardous work without fear of adverse consequences.

What conditions justify refusing hazardous work?

The employee must reasonably believe there is an imminent risk of death or serious injury.

What is good faith in the context of refusing hazardous work?

Employees must have an honest belief that a hazard exists, intending to protect themselves.

What are the three standards of reasonable belief for refusing hazardous work?

Subjective, Objective, and Reasonable Person standards.

What is the reasonable person standard?

Evidence would persuade a reasonable person, providing a balanced burden of proof.

What is the significance of the Whirlpool Corporation case?

It upheld workers' rights to refuse hazardous work without facing disciplinary action.

What are hazardous substances in the workplace?

Substances that can cause harm, such as asbestos, heavy metals, and pesticides.

What is the lag time in occupational diseases?

The delay between exposure and onset of disease, which can be 30-40 years.

What is the role of OSHA?

To issue standards and enforce workplace safety regulations through inspections.

What is the ethical dilemma faced by workers regarding hazardous work?

Choosing between performing hazardous work or refusing and facing disciplinary action.

What is the impact of the OSH Act on workplace safety?

It established federal oversight and standards for occupational health and safety.

What is the definition of hazardous work?

Work that poses a risk of injury or death due to unsafe conditions.

What is the significance of the term 'recognized hazards' in workplace safety?

Hazards that are known and acknowledged, requiring employers to take action.

How does the OSH Act balance costs and benefits?

By weighing industry costs against economy-wide savings from improved safety.

What is the primary responsibility of employers under the OSH Act?

To ensure a safe working environment free from recognized hazards.

What are the implications of the fellow-servant rule?

It suggests that an employer may not be liable for injuries caused by a coworker's negligence.

What is the significance of the term 'permissible exposure limits' (PEL)?

Standards set by OSHA to limit worker exposure to hazardous substances.

What are the four correlative duties imposed on employers according to McGarity?

1. Reveal information already possessed 2. Communicate information to employees 3. Seek out existing information from other sources 4. Produce new information through research

Is the right to know strictly necessary for workplace safety?

No, a fully safe workplace could exist without workers being told everything, but it is an important means of securing safety.

What is the argument from autonomy regarding workplace safety?

Autonomous individuals must be able to exercise free choice in matters affecting their welfare; workers cannot choose freely without knowing the risks they face.

What is the employer's counter-argument to the argument from autonomy?

Employers argue they can protect workers more effectively than workers can protect themselves, which is rejected as paternalism.

What are the practical issues with bargaining over information in the workplace?

It creates a disincentive for employers to share information, is not feasible for non-unionized workers, and incurs high transaction costs.

How does awareness of hazards enable self-protection for workers?

Workers aware of hazards are better equipped to protect themselves using warning labels, protective equipment, and spotting early symptoms.

What is the connection between information and wage-setting in the free market?

Without information, workers undervalue risk and accept lower wages, giving employers no incentive to improve safety, leading to greater societal costs.

What are fetotoxins?

Toxic substances that affect the fetus similarly to how they affect adults, potentially harming the fetus at lower doses.

What are teratogens?

Substances that interfere with normal fetal development in utero but may pose no danger to adults outside the womb.

What are mutagens?

Substances that damage genetic material before conception and can alter chromosomal structure, often overlapping with teratogens.

What is a fetal protection policy?

Policies that exclude women from certain jobs involving reproductive risks unless they can document medical inability to bear children.

What was the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on fetal protection policies in 1991?

The Court ruled that these policies are discriminatory under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

What are the drawbacks of fetal protection policies beyond legality?

They have a discriminatory effect on women's economic opportunities and can lead to forced sterilization.

What did the Johnson Controls case address?

It raised the issue of whether employers or employees should make critical decisions about reproductive risk.

What are the two legal defenses against the charge of discrimination in fetal protection policies?

1. Business Necessity Defense 2. BFOQ (Bona Fide Occupational Qualification) Defense.

What must be established for the Business Necessity Defense?

1. There is a substantial risk to the fetus. 2. This risk occurs only through women. 3. There is no less discriminatory alternative.

What did the Supreme Court rule regarding the BFOQ Defense in Johnson Controls?

Being female (or fertile) is not a BFOQ for making batteries, as fertile and pregnant women can perform the job.

What are the remaining issues after the Johnson Controls ruling?

Balancing the rights of working women with protecting fetuses and the legal liability for corporations.

What can employers do to protect themselves from liability regarding fetal harm?

Fully inform employees of the risks they face and not act negligently.

What is the Due Care Theory in product safety?

Manufacturers must take all reasonable precautions to ensure products are free of harmful defects, with liability arising from negligence.

What is the ethical basis for the Due Care Theory?

Aristotelian corrective justice, which states that wrongful harm creates an obligation to compensate.

What are the standards of due care for product safety?

1. Design must meet standards; 2. Materials must be strong and durable; 3. Production must follow specifications.

What are the standards for materials used in product manufacturing?

Materials must meet standards; they should be sufficiently strong and durable for reasonable use.

What is the purpose of a systematic inspection program in quality control?

To maintain records and ensure products meet quality standards.

What does 'due care' extend to in product liability?

It extends to foreseeable misuse of the product.

What landmark case held Ford liable for a Mercury Cougar exceeding safe tire speeds?

The case illustrates the concept of due care in product liability.

What is the 'state-of-the-art' defense in product liability?

A defense rejected in Bashada v. Johns-Manville, stating manufacturers cannot escape liability for inadequate investment in safety research.

What does the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) govern?

It governs the sales contract and the manufacturer's responsibility.

What is the implied warranty of merchantability?

It ensures that a product is of acceptable quality and fit for ordinary use.

What is an express warranty?

Any affirmation or promise that becomes part of the basis of the bargain.

What was the significance of Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors?

It illustrated failures in warranty law and the limitations of consumer protection.

What is strict liability in product liability law?

Manufacturers are responsible for all harm from a dangerously defective product, regardless of due care.

What is the historical requirement of privity in product liability?

Victims could only sue parties with whom they had a direct contractual relationship.

What did the case MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. establish?

It established that privity is not required when negligence is present.

What did the case Greenman v. Yuba Power Products formally establish?

It formally established strict liability as a legal doctrine.

What ethical argument supports strict liability?

It provides powerful incentives for manufacturers to ensure safety and distribute costs fairly.

What are the two central controversies regarding health and safety?

The morally required levels of health and safety and how to achieve these levels.

What does cost-benefit analysis involve in the context of health and safety?

It involves trade-offs between lower prices, higher wages, and greater profits.

What is the significance of the Ford-Firestone case?

It illustrates shared corporate responsibility for product safety.

What did the Supreme Court rule in the Johnson Controls case?

Fetal protection policies were ruled as illegal sex discrimination.

What was the outcome of the Benzene case (1977)?

OSHA could not prove that sub-10ppm benzene directly caused leukemia.

What is the significance of the Burlington Northern case?

It led to a settlement for $2.2M and the establishment of GINA, which prohibits genetic discrimination in employment.

What does the term 'invited misuse' refer to in product liability?

It refers to situations where products are marketed in a way that encourages misuse, as seen in GM's Pontiac Firebird Trans Am case.

What are the common law defenses in product liability cases?

Contributory negligence and assumption of risk.

What is the ethical objection to strict liability?

It ignores fault, which is fundamental to compensatory justice.

What is the practical objection to strict liability?

It can create heavy burdens on manufacturers, stifling innovation and driving some out of business.

What is the key weakness of the due care theory in product liability?

It is hard to apply and requires proving negligence, which victims often cannot do.

What is the ethical foundation of the contractual theory of product liability?

It is based on the principle of freedom of contract.

What is the significance of the Kolcraft Travel-Lite Crib case?

It illustrates inadequate design testing and ineffective recall, resulting in infant deaths.