Raising a hazard
Workers can report unsafe conditions to a supervisor, a safety committee, or directly to OSHA, and an OSHA complaint can be filed with a request that your name be kept from the employer. New York law also allows employees at many workplaces to form a joint labor and management safety committee. Putting the concern in writing, and keeping a copy, makes it easier to show later that it was raised and when. Photographs can help, but take them only where you are permitted to be and where taking them does not itself break a workplace rule you have been told about. Raising a safety concern in good faith is protected against retaliation.
Refusing dangerous work
There is a narrow right under federal law to refuse a task that presents an imminent danger of death or serious injury, and the conditions for using it are strict. In most situations the safer course is to report the hazard, ask that it be fixed, and request other work in the meantime. Walking off a job without that groundwork can be treated as insubordination if the conditions are not met. A union contract may provide its own procedure for safety disputes. If you are punished for raising a concern or refusing, a retaliation complaint to OSHA has a very short filing window, so act quickly.
After an injury
Injuries on the job usually go through workers compensation, which generally replaces a lawsuit against your employer. In construction, New York's safety statutes can give injured workers a separate claim against owners and general contractors for certain accidents, especially falls and falling objects, which is one reason construction injuries in New York often involve two tracks at once. Report the injury promptly, get medical care, and keep records of the conditions that caused it. We look at what happened, who controlled the worksite, and which claims and deadlines apply.
