'Rogue Supervisor' Ruling Won't Shield Most Employers from OSHA Violations

Travis Vance was quoted in Business Insurance on January 28, 2016. The article “'Rogue Supervisor' Ruling Won't Shield Most Employers from OSHA Violations” discussed how employers should not rely on a narrowly carved exception involving rogue supervisors to the general rule that they are liable for workplace safety violations when their supervisors know about the hazards, according to a recent court decision.

Travis said, “Employers need to ensure their supervisors are properly trained, not just on substantive aspects of safety such as proper fall protection and lockout/tagout procedures, but on basic understanding of all worksite hazards and how to effectively communicate with employees to look out for hazardous situations and protect themselves.”

“It's a very fascinating case,” he said. “I think that going forward it's going to be interesting when these types of situations come up whether that knowledge is going to be imputed to the employer. I think there are some long-term ramifications, and I think employers, especially in the 11th circuit, will definitely take notice of this decision.”

To read the full article, please visit Business Insurance.