Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 23, 1990 TAG: 9005230097
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DEBORAH EVANS BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Yet many employers are either unaware of the laws or unsure how to comply. That is why the Risk and Insurance Society and Safety Council of Southwest Virginia sponsor a series of seminars.
Too often, new regulations are put into place without any guidance to employers on implementation, said spokeswoman Martha Edwards at Tuesday's "Reduce Risks, Increase Profits" seminar in Vinton.
"A bunch of your contractors are not complying because they say `We don't handle any [hazardous materials],' yet concrete is a hazardous material," Edwards said. "We say if they will attend [the seminars], we will show them how."
Seminar speaker Paul Burns, with the voluntary safety compliance-training division of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, said many employers fear that compliance to meet OSHA regulations may alert employees that they have been working with hazardous materials and lead to lawsuits. Some businesses have had to be forced to tell their employees, he said, but "the lawsuits didn't happen."
Burns said one company came up with an elaborate training program but still was cited for failure to meet regulations. Giving the program to its employees to read was not considered training, particularly when it was learned that some of the employees could not read.
by CNB