Employers in Georgia and throughout the country may have safety plans that don’t necessarily align with employee needs. This was one of the takeaways from a Rave Mobile Safety study of 530 workers. Of those who responded to the survey, only 37 percent said that their company has a mass text message system in place if there is an emergency situation. In most cases, only those who work on remote job sites receive alerts by text.
However, employees who worked either in an office or remotely said that they would prefer to receive a text message alert. As workplaces start to trend younger and people start to work in various locations outside of the office, text messages may be a better way to communicate.
Employers may also need to adjust how they plan for emergencies. Of those who responded to the survey, 87 percent said that their employer had a fire safety plan and that it had been practiced. Only 57 percent of respondents said that their employers had safety plans for other situations such as an active shooter or weather alerts. Those who study workplace security issues say that accounting for these situations will be vital to workplace safety. Furthermore, employers are encouraged to practice these scenarios much like they would perform fire drills.
Those who are hurt in a work accident or through an act of workplace violence may be entitled to compensation. The type of compensation may depend on the facts of the case. If a worker is attacked by a colleague, it may represent negligence on the employer’s behalf, which may entitle a worker to punitive and other damages. In a workers compensation case, an employee may be entitled to have medical bills paid and to recoup lost wages.
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