Texas employers that have not yet adopted the current American National Standards Institute workplace safety poster designs may be unwittingly putting their people in danger. This is because the old signs were written in English only, which means that those who are not fluent in that language may not benefit from them. Furthermore, they only identify what the danger is while neglecting to mention the consequences of such a hazard. These signs also do nothing to help a person avoid the hazard.
Older signs may not stand out from other objects on the wall, which may render them useless. As the newer signs are better at communicating what a person can do to avoid a hazard, it may protect a company from financial loss if an accident occurs that leads to injury. In addition, employers are encouraged to use these signs because doing so puts them in compliance with OSHA standards while also working to improve worker safety.
Employers have an obligation to create a reasonably safe workplace for employees and anyone else who may be on their premises. Failure to do so could leave an employer exposed to liability in a lawsuit. It could also increase the risk of workers’ compensation claims, which may result in higher premiums and lost productivity.
Those who are hurt while at work are in most cases entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. However, if the injury was due to a reckless disregard by the employer of its workplace safety obligations, an attorney might make a determination that in lieu of seeking those benefits, a lawsuit could be filed against the employer instead.