{"id":830,"date":"2019-08-13T22:42:51","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T22:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=830"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:22:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:22:36","slug":"worker-rights","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/chapter\/worker-rights\/","title":{"raw":"Worker Rights","rendered":"Worker Rights"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify worker rights under the OSH Act<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nWorker rights under the OSH Act are summarized in the OSHA poster (see Figure 1), which employers are required to post in a prominent location in the workplace. The poster is available in 12 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. OSHA regulations do not specify or require employers to display the OSHA poster in a foreign language. However, posting a version or versions that reflect the employee language mix is a recommended practice.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1179\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"406\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/08\/03215258\/OHSA-Poster.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img class=\"wp-image-1179 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/08\/03215453\/OHSA-Poster.png\" alt=\"Thumbnail version of an OSHA poster.\" width=\"406\" height=\"671\" \/><\/a> Figure 1. Job Safety and Health: It's the Law (Click on this image to view the full PDF.)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn brief, the OSH Act establishes that workers have a fundamental right to a safe workplace. That right includes the right to voice a safety or health concern, to report a work-related injury or illness and view medical records. The Act also provides for protection from retaliation for expressing a concern or reporting an injury or illness. OSHA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whistleblowers.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Whistleblower Protection Program<\/a> investigates claims of retaliation and enforces protections for employees for engaging in protected activities.\u201d OSHA investigators handle allegations of retaliation from private sector and U.S. Postal Service employees. Federal employees are covered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whistleblowers.gov\/retaliation_by_subject#environmental-protection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">environmental statutes<\/a> and each agency is required to establish procedures to protect employees from \u201cretaliation for reporting unsafe or unhealthful working conditions, or for otherwise engaging in safety or health activities.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whistleblowers.gov\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Whistle Blower Protection<\/a>.\" Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor. Accessed August 20, 2019.[\/footnote] Similarly, public sector employees should report safety or health hazards to their respective agency\u2019s Designated Agency Safety and Health Officer (DASHO).\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Note<\/h3>\r\nFederal government agencies are required to post the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/Publications\/fedposter.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Federal Agency poster<\/a>, which is available as a Word doc to allow individuals agencies to customize it with their logos and other identifying information.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nIn addition to the rights listed on the OSHA poster, employees have the right to the following:[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/workers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OSHA Worker Rights and Protections<\/a>.\" Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor. Accessed August 20, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be trained in a language you understand<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work on machines that are safe<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be provided required safety gear, such as gloves or a harness and lifeline for falls<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be protected from toxic chemicals<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Request an OSHA inspection, and speak to the inspector<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See copies of the workplace injury and illness log<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Receive copies of test results done to find hazards in the workplace<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\r\nOSHA also has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/faq#v-nav-infoworkers\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/a> section on their website.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/609240dd-0eab-48c1-94f2-2f8bfbdd447b\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify worker rights under the OSH Act<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Worker rights under the OSH Act are summarized in the OSHA poster (see Figure 1), which employers are required to post in a prominent location in the workplace. The poster is available in 12 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. OSHA regulations do not specify or require employers to display the OSHA poster in a foreign language. However, posting a version or versions that reflect the employee language mix is a recommended practice.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1179\" style=\"width: 416px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/08\/03215258\/OHSA-Poster.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1179\" class=\"wp-image-1179 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/08\/03215453\/OHSA-Poster.png\" alt=\"Thumbnail version of an OSHA poster.\" width=\"406\" height=\"671\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1179\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 1. Job Safety and Health: It&#8217;s the Law (Click on this image to view the full PDF.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In brief, the OSH Act establishes that workers have a fundamental right to a safe workplace. That right includes the right to voice a safety or health concern, to report a work-related injury or illness and view medical records. The Act also provides for protection from retaliation for expressing a concern or reporting an injury or illness. OSHA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whistleblowers.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Whistleblower Protection Program<\/a> investigates claims of retaliation and enforces protections for employees for engaging in protected activities.\u201d OSHA investigators handle allegations of retaliation from private sector and U.S. Postal Service employees. Federal employees are covered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whistleblowers.gov\/retaliation_by_subject#environmental-protection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">environmental statutes<\/a> and each agency is required to establish procedures to protect employees from \u201cretaliation for reporting unsafe or unhealthful working conditions, or for otherwise engaging in safety or health activities.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;Whistle Blower Protection.&quot; Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor. Accessed August 20, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-830-1\" href=\"#footnote-830-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a> Similarly, public sector employees should report safety or health hazards to their respective agency\u2019s Designated Agency Safety and Health Officer (DASHO).<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Note<\/h3>\n<p>Federal government agencies are required to post the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/Publications\/fedposter.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Federal Agency poster<\/a>, which is available as a Word doc to allow individuals agencies to customize it with their logos and other identifying information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In addition to the rights listed on the OSHA poster, employees have the right to the following:<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;OSHA Worker Rights and Protections.&quot; Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor. Accessed August 20, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-830-2\" href=\"#footnote-830-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be trained in a language you understand<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work on machines that are safe<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be provided required safety gear, such as gloves or a harness and lifeline for falls<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be protected from toxic chemicals<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Request an OSHA inspection, and speak to the inspector<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See copies of the workplace injury and illness log<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Receive copies of test results done to find hazards in the workplace<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\n<p>OSHA also has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/faq#v-nav-infoworkers\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/a> section on their website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_609240dd-0eab-48c1-94f2-2f8bfbdd447b\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/609240dd-0eab-48c1-94f2-2f8bfbdd447b?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_609240dd-0eab-48c1-94f2-2f8bfbdd447b\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-830\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Worker Rights. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Nina Burokas. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">Public domain content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Poster: Job Safety and Health: It&#039;s the Law. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: OSHA. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/Publications\/osha3165-8514.pdf\">https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/Publications\/osha3165-8514.pdf<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/pdm\">Public Domain: No Known Copyright<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-830-1\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whistleblowers.gov\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Whistle Blower Protection<\/a>.\" Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor. Accessed August 20, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-830-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-830-2\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/workers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OSHA Worker Rights and Protections<\/a>.\" Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor. Accessed August 20, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-830-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Worker Rights\",\"author\":\"Nina Burokas\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"pd\",\"description\":\"Poster: Job Safety and Health: It\\'s the Law\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"OSHA\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/Publications\/osha3165-8514.pdf\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"pd\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"f5f09a44-a394-49fb-ad67-2aa7c841856d, 7763ef28-07c4-4b33-b081-c6a4e4017874","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-830","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":825,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3473,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/830\/revisions\/3473"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/825"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/830\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=830"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=830"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}