Employment and Workplace Safety
Our services
Our employment services are part of our full-service business practice. We have experience representing employers and employees in employment and workplace accident cases. Our experience on both sides of the fence makes our approach practical, realistic, and aimed at preventing liability. Our employment services for small and medium-sized businesses include:
- Review of workplace practices, including employee manuals
- Non-competition agreements
- Family Medical Leave Act
- Workplace Reproductive Health
- Workplace Safety and OSHA compliance
- Employment-based immigration
- Defending Employers in Court
- Governmental Agencies
Our work reaches beyond traditional suit-and-tie law firm methods. Our attorneys have hands-on experience in construction and manufacturing industries. We do not need a reminder to bring a hard hat or safety glasses. We have over combined 70 hours of OSHA training, and we have spent night shifts at our clients' sites to better understand their needs. Our employment services include OSHA inspections and citations, workplace safety, and employee training.
Useful links
- Ohio Department of Job & Family Services
- Ohio Civil Rights Commission
- Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation
- Ohio State Employment Relations Board
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- U.S. Department of Labor
- National Labor Relations Board
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health
- United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
- American Conference of Industrial Hygienists
Articles and Publications:
Responding to Accidents at WorkImagine you receive a frantic call from your client Jane Smith. She tells you there has been a fatal accident at the plant, and an investigator from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is on the way. Smith runs a small metal shop, and you have done some corporate work for her. She desperately needs legal help, and she called you because you are the company's lawyer. What do you do? Read more on Investigating and Responding to Workplace Accidents, authored by Elena Lougovskaia and published in the Ohio Lawyer, Vol. 2006, September/October issue.
Workplace Safety PracticesA hazard assessment process should start from the ground-up and involve employees who perform the hands-on work. Each work area and process should be evaluated for potential health and physical hazards. Supervisors and managers are usually overworked, wear too many hats and are forced to take shortcuts. Therefore, they typically have limited knowledge of what happens "behind the scenes."
A hazard assessment process should start from the ground-up...
Workers with intimate working knowledge of the process are in the best position to evaluate the hazards present at their workplace. A comprehensive hazard assessment takes into account all aspects of work performed at a certain station. For instance, the hazards of a mechanical power press vary depending on the task at hand. Setup operations may increase the risk of amputations, while continuous operations may add the risk of flying chips and coolant. The assessment must focus not only on the employees who are performing the task at hand, but also on the employees who may be exposed to the hazard by virtue of their location. For example, a mechanical power press poses risks not only to its operators, but also to maintenance employees, setup personnel and anyone else that may be in its proximity. Similarly, harmful vapors may pose a risk not only to the employees who are working near them, but also to other personnel in the building if the area is not isolated or properly ventilated.... Read more at Counseling Your Clients to Prevent Workplace Accidents, authored by Elena Lougovskaia.
