Workplace Safety

As an employer, you need to be aware of the potential hazards that your workplace might present. The following list alerts you to these possible hazards and provides guidance in creating a safety policy to minimize the risk of injury and accidents:

Safety - OSHA. Your legal obligations to provide a safe work environment for your employees arise primarily from a federal law known as the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).
Posting requirements - federal. If you have any employees you must display posters and material safety data sheets (MSDSs) that inform employees of their job safety rights.
Posting requirements - state. Many states have established and administer their own state plans for workplace safety.
Security. You are responsible for the security of your workplace, your property, and, to a lesser degree, the security of your employees' property.
Smoking policy. The majority of states have laws that impose responsibilities on employers regarding smoking at their business premises.
Harassment. If you have 15 or more employees, you are subject to federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore, you have a legal obligation to provide a work environment that is free from intimidation, insult, or ridicule based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. Even if you have fewer than 15 employees, you must also be concerned with preventing harassment because you can sometimes be sued in state courts.
Violence in the workplace. Work rules can serve as a deterrent to workplace violence by making employees aware that there can be severe consequences attached to even minor incidents involving physical confrontation or contact.