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Federal law entitles all workers to a safe workplace and requires employers to provide the tools, resources, training, and enforcement necessary to maintain that safety. But the General Duty Clause of the OSH act doesn’t just hold employers accountable. Paragraph (b) of the General Duty Clause requires employees to comply with workplace safety rules and regulations applicable to their own actions and behavior.
This past week, it was announced that actor Alec Baldwin and three other cast and crew members will face involuntary manslaughter charges for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021. The shooting occurred while filming the movie Rust and also resulted in an injury to the movie’s director. What does this have to do with the General Duty Clause and worker accountability? After all, Ms. Hutchins didn’t accidently shoot herself. However, if any one of several other people involved had prioritized safety and personal accountability, she’d be here today.
Personal accountability is taking credit for consequences (good or bad) that occur from behaviors over which workers have control. Workers can’t be held accountable for workplace hazards they have no control over correcting, but they can be held accountable for complying with workplace rules and policies, immediately reporting injuries and hazards, and taking measures to protect themselves and others from hazards.
In the Rust filming fatality, arguments are being made that Mr. Baldwin didn’t have reason to believe there was a live round in the chamber of the gun, or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on hired professionals, an armorer and a prop supplier, rather than opening the gun chamber and checking for himself. Despite movie industry standards prohibiting live rounds on any movie set, the gun was still loaded with a live round that proved fatal.
In essence, this terrible loss of life was the direct result of a failure of controls and lack of individual safety accountability. The prop supplier shouldn’t have allowed live rounds on set in violation of industry policy. The armorer should’ve checked the chamber and verified there were no live rounds. Mr. Baldwin should’ve checked the chamber himself before using it in rehearsal rather than relying on the supplier and the armorer. And evidence suggests the gun was not secured during a lunch break, but rather left unsecured on a prop cart.
We all want to trust our coworkers to follow procedures. However, as demonstrated by the Rust fatality, it’s easy for mistakes to occur, or in this case, multiple mistakes and system failures. Workers must take the time to check, double-check, and check again to ensure proper safety measures are being taken, safety procedures are followed, and safety devices are functioning properly. When it comes to safety, workers must be the last line of their own defense.
The Hierarchy of Controls is a system designed to help eliminate or reduce hazards. The controls begin with the most effective means of exposure control and move toward lesser methods of control:
Ideally, employers should implement as many controls as possible that remove a hazard completely. In the case of the Rust shooting, the following would have effectively prevented the loss of a life:
Workers are their own best advocates when it comes to workplace safety. Checking and double-checking safety devices rather than relying on others to do so is imperative. By doing so, the life you save may just be your own.