Question

Forward Fuels is a chemicals manufacturer with a large research and development team searching for new alternatives to gasoline. Because it develops new chemicals and is constantly innovating, the Department of Labor cannot possibly keep up with specific safety and health standards for its workplace. Some of the managers are asking Destiny, the human resource manager, if that means they don't have to bother trying to comply with all the OSHA regulations. What should Destiny recommend?

A. ask NIOSH to anticipate all possible hazards that could occur
B. focus on planning for emergency responses when injuries do occur
C. under the general-duty clause, the company is exempt from specific regulations
D. simply focus on the health and safety risks that are widely known
E. be constantly alert for potential sources of harm and correct them

Answer 1

Destiny, as the HR manager at Forward Fuels, should advise the company to comply with the OSHA General Duty Clause by actively identifying and mitigating health and safety risks, informing workers, using safer chemical alternatives, and planning for emergencies, despite the lack of specific standards for every chemical they develop.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question deals with how Destiny, the human resource manager at Forward Fuels, should respond to managers questioning the necessity of compliance with OSHA regulations due to the inability of the Department of Labor to keep up with the company's constant innovation in chemical development. Destiny should recommend that the company must remain actively engaged in identifying and mitigating potential health and safety risks even when there are no existing specific standards. This is in line with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, which obliges employers to provide a workplace free of serious recognized hazards.

Destiny should advise that the company should continue to inform workers about chemical hazards, deploy effective safety measures like ventilation systems to clean the air, use safer chemical alternatives, and plan for emergency responses. Despite the absence of specific regulations for every new chemical, the company is required to ensure a safe working environment and could be liable if it fails to do so. Moreover, being proactive about employee safety can prevent disastrous outcomes similar to historical industrial accidents, benefiting the company's long-term profitability and reputation.