Assignment #4 – R. Williams Construction Co. v. OSHRC
Sarah Barnard
February 26, 2012
Business Employment Law - HRM 510
Dr. Zelphia A. Brown, SPHR, Instructor

Assignment # 4- R. Williams Construction Co. v. OSHRC 1. What were the legal issues in this case? This case is based around the laws and regulations of OSHA. OSHA is an Occupational Safety and Health Act that has been put into place to ensure the safety of employees while on the job. These regulations are put into place to help reduce the number of on the job injuries and death. In this case, Williams Construction was put under investigation after a trench collapse, which resulted in the death of one employee and a serious injury in another. After the investigation
It was stated multiple times through out the investigation by OSHA that employees were not receiving any training prior to being brought on to a work cite. As employers it was their responsibility to make sure that employees had the knowledge to work safely and to make sure that their employees had a full understanding of what OSHA regulations would be required to follow. At one point of the investigation, the manager on site stated that he was responsible for the safety of his workers, but did not even look at the safety manual provided, even though it was right in the back seat of his truck. This just shows negligence on the company’s behalf. 4. Explain the role, if any, employees’ actions should have in determining liability under the OSH Act. Determining whether the employee or company is liable for violations that fall under OSHA regulations can be tough. I think that as long as the company can provide concrete proof of training to their employee and provide evidence that from the side of the company everything was done to provide employees with the knowledge to work safe then they will not be at fault for the violations. Employee’s actions on a job site should be taken into consideration at all times. OSHA needs to conduct a full investigation in order to be able to determine what happened to cause