Workplace Injuries Has Been Increasingly

¶ … workplace injuries has been increasingly brought to the forefront. Part of the reason for this, is because there are different health risks associated with possible injuries on the job. In the case of women, they have a particular challenge when it comes to these issues for chemical producers. The reason why is because the repeated exposure to different substances could have a negative impact on women who are pregnant and their unborn children. Once this occurs, it means that their babies could be born with birth defects that will have an adverse effect on their health. (Paskal, 1988, pp. 323 -- 341)

In the article titled Dilemma: Save the Fetus or Sue the Employer, Paskal (1988) is talking about how there is an ethical conflict that is occurring. What is happening is a number of corporations have been excluding women from working in areas that will expose them to chemicals (when they are pregnant). However, the problem is that segregating them from these occupations is considered by some legal experts to be a violation of various civil rights laws (most notably Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964). This forbids employers from excluding someone who is working in a particular career field based upon their race, color, sex, religion or natural origin. In the article, the author is weighing the restrictions that are currently in place for women in the industry and the letter of the law. (Paskal, 1988, pp. 323 -- 341)

A statement on the legal aspects of the OS&H topic

In a previous court decision in favor of the Olin Corporation, their policy was determined to be Constitutional. This is because of the various pieces of scientific evidence that are highlighting how restricting women who are pregnant from these jobs is protecting their unborn fetus. Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than the comments from the Federal Circuit Court that ruled in favor of the firm with them saying, "Title VII scrutiny where within [the scientific] community there is so considerable a body of opinion that significant [fetal] risk exists, and that it is substantially confined to women workers, that an informed employer could not responsibly fail to act on the assumption that this opinion might be the accurate one." (Paskal, 1988, pp. 323 -- 341) This is significant, because it is showing how there are specific provisions of the law that allow certain aspects to be waived. In the case of the policies of limiting women who are pregnant from working in areas where there are high amounts of chemicals. This is designed based upon actual scientific evidence supporting the dangers and the impact that it can have on the unborn child. (Paskal, 1988, pp. 323 -- 341)

Analysis of the key points in the article

There are several key points in the article that are discussed by Paskal. These include: the types of fetal harm that could occur, Worker's Compensation and what steps can be taken under federal tort regulations. The different types of harm that could happen are when the author is discussing specific effects that this will have on unborn baby. These include: unhealthy genetic material being passed to the embryo, this will have an impact on the development of the organs and it weakens the child's immune system.

Worker's Compensation is when there is a focus on having different provisions in place to ensure that women's health along with the fetus will not be impacted by the chemicals they are exposed to. As, this policy is designed to ensure that corporations are not in violation of the law.

While the various steps that can be taken under federal regulations is when someone who is exposed to these conditions is discussing what action women can take. This includes: damages, when to sue for causation and the standards of care. These different elements are important, because they are illustrating how there is a focus on the way chemicals can impact the fetus and what steps women can take to deal with these issues. (Paskal, 1988, pp. 323 -- 341)

When you step back and analyze these different points, it is clear that this is having an impact on how women's safety is having an effect on the various policies and procedures that introduced inside the workplace. As a result, this is an indication that these kinds of provisions are designed to protect women. While at the same time, it is giving them the ability to seek out any kind of legal remedies for possible violations of the law. This is important, because it is showing how the current approach is having an effect on how the regulations are enacted (by taking into account issues of safety and the way they are applied in relation to Title VII). (Paskal, 1988, pp. 323 -- 341)

Summary of the article's conclusions and your own opinions as related to the general duty clause.