Here’s a new worry for Ohio HR pros who play a role in deciding whether to fire employees: You could end up being sued personally if it turns out that the discharge was wrongful under Ohio’s public policy exception to at-will employment. That means your own assets—not just the company’s—are at risk. Here’s how it works:

The number of deaths on the job plummeted to its lowest level ever, in 2009, according to a report issued by the North Carolina Department of Labor. Although some of the decrease could be a result of the slow economy—fewer workers might mean fewer accidents—measures that adjust for the number of workers fell as well.

When OSHA said it had received an anonymous complaint about safety conditions at one of Brocon Petroleum’s work sites, executives there had a pretty good idea who made the call. So the Freehold-based company fired the employee. OSHA did not take it well ...

Notice anything missing from your bulletin board? As of Feb. 1, most employers should have posted an official annual summary of their OSHA logs. If you haven’t done so, get cracking. With a nationwide OSHA audit looming, it’s more important than ever.

Q. Our break/locker room is located upstairs. We have several employees (age 66 to 77) who are having trouble climbing the steep stairs due to advancing age. We’re afraid they’ll fall. They all say they’d crawl up the stairs before they quit.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced a federal ban on texting by drivers of commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses. Even if your employees don't drive big rigs, you need a policy prohibiting texting while driving. We show you the basics to include.

What do your supervisors do when they catch workers breaking a major safety rule? Simply yell at the worker? A new court ruling highlights the importance of enforcing safety rules with discipline and documentation.

Ohio’s workers’ compensation laws are complex, and employers that want to fight a claim may find themselves in court for years. That costs money. That’s why smart employers look for ways to prevent claims. One of those preventive methods involves the area sometimes referred to as the “zone of employment.”

OSHA has cited Minnesota-based Endres Processing LLC and its subsidiary Endres Processing Ohio for numerous hazards at the companies’ Upper Sandusky plant. Endres manufactures animal feed from unused dairy products. OSHA cited large amounts of dust in the plant as both a fire and breathing hazard.

OSHA has cited Walt Disney World following two fatal accidents at the amusement park. Last July, a monorail train operator was killed when a switching error brought two trains together on the same track. In August, an actor died from injuries suffered during Disney’s new “Pirates of the Caribbean” stage show.

Recent workplace shootings in Orlando, Fla., and Fort Hood serve as powerful reminders that employers must heed signs that an employee could act out and harm co-workers or supervisors. There were 768 violence-related deaths in the workplace in 2008. Despite those disturbing numbers, many employers stick their heads in the sand. They put their assets and employees at risk by gambling that “it couldn’t happen here.”

Thinking about forming a safety committee? Here’s incentive: During the night, a Seattle firefighter mistook the fire pole for a restroom door. (A safety light that illuminated the pole had burned out.) He fell 18 feet and suffered spine and brain injuries ... A jury awarded him $12.7 million.

Some employees get mad when they learn they’re being terminated. Some may even try to abscond with valuable company property or records as a way to retaliate for losing their jobs. That’s why employers should take reasonable measures to protect records and property—even if that means escorting the fired employee out of the building and preventing access to work spaces and equipment.

Q. Are we required to provide a couch or cot on the premises in the event that an employee becomes ill? Are there any laws that dictate safety or health reasons for doing this?

An effective workplace violence prevention program begins with employee screening and ends with publicizing a tough anti-violence policy. Here's a primer on reducing the chances of employee violence erupting at your workplace. You can also download our Workplace Violence Prevention Toolkit, containing proven violence-prevention strategies and sample policies.