Human Resource Regulations. Specifically It Thesis

Another landmark case involved global giant British Petroleum (BP) in the largest fine in OSHA history. The case involved the explosion at a BP refinery in Texas that killed 15 people and injured 170 others. An OSHA press release notes, "This citation and penalty - nearly double the next largest fine in OSHA history - sends a strong message to all employers about the need to protect workers and to make health and safety a core value,' Solicitor of Labor Howard M. Radzely stated" (Groover, 2005). The implications for human resource implementation are again clear. Without the proper training, the individuals in the plant did not operate some of the processing equipment effectively, and pressure built up in the unit that exploded. Part of the settlement required BP to "hire an expert to assess and report on communication within and between management, supervisors, and authorized employee representatives and non-management employees and the impact of the communication on implementation of safety practices and procedures" (Groover, 2005). Human resources should have anticipated the need for this individual beforehand, and implemented the hiring to ensure the health and safety of its workers. This means human resource departments in all companies are directly responsible for the training and safety of the company's employees, and they have to be aware of that. They also have to recognize hazardous situations exist, and that they need to address the training and implementation of training to ensure safety throughout the operation. The implementation of training procedures begins with good communication and assessment, and every human resources department has to be aware of that.

One more piece of legislation that helped create new health insurance standards throughout the human resources field was the "Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits U.S.insurance companies and employers from discriminating on the basis of information derived from genetic tests" (Editors, 2008). This meant that any human resource department that used genetic testing to pre-screen potential employees had to stop using the screening, and had to implement new policies regarding new hires and what the state of their health was or might be.

In conclusion, just about any workplace health or safety case has the ability to influence the way human resources are implemented and maintained, because workplace safety and health are such important issues to most companies. Human resources is charged with the training and knowledge to avoid fines and workplace violations, so it is up to them to ensure a healthy, safe workplace for everyone.

References

Editors. (2008). Breaking news: GINA becomes law May 2008. Retrieved from the Human Genome Project Web site: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/legislat.shtml.

Groover, P. (2005). OSHA fines BP Products North America more than $21 million following Texas City explosion. Retrieved 26 March 2009 from the OSHA.gov Web site: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document-p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=11589.

Mitchell, B. (2007). U.S. Labor Department's OSHA announces workplace health violations against American Airlines at O'Hare International Airport. Retrieved 26 March 2009 from the Legal View Web site: http://mesothelioma.legalview.com/osha/570248/......