A recent OSHA complain from Hyatt Hotel Housekeepers promotes workplace safety standards reports New York Workplace Injury Attorney
New York City, NY – (WiredPRNews.com) The Law Firm of Jonathan C Reiter, a proven New York Workplace Injury Attorney, represents injured workers from all industries and walks of life. According to New York Workplace Injury Attorneys, all employees in the state of New York have the right to safe working conditions, proper training, and functional equipment. Employers have a legal obligation to maintain a safe work environment for their employees and implement proper safety regulations and protocol. In a report made with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) on Tuesday, November 9th by Hyatt Hotel Housekeepers, these basic rights were allegedly not being met by their employer.
This is the first time in history that personal injury complaints were filed with OSHA by private sector employees from 12 properties across 8 states. Housekeepers working for Hyatt Hotels in San Antonio, Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Honolulu, and Indianapolis reported repetitive motion and other kinds of injuries sustained on the job.
Hospitality workers can often be injured on the job says New York Workplace Injury Attorney JC Reiter. Earlier this year a peer-review published by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (AJIM) studied hotel worker injuries at 50 US hotel operations. The AJIM study found the top injury rates among hotel workers to be in the housekeeping departments and housekeepers working at Hyatt Hotels to have the highest injury rates in hotels studied.
New York Workplace Injury Attorneys agree that the basic tasks required of housekeepers could result in injuries requiring missed time from work and in some instances require surgical intervention, physical therapy, or lead to permanent disability. Basic steps like a cap to the number of room cleanings required daily, the use of fitted sheets to eliminate heavy mattress lifting, and the use of long-handled mops so workers do not have to get down on their hands and knees to clean the floors should be taken to minimize workplace injuries for housekeepers.
Commenting on the recent OSHA filings Gary Orr, a former OSHA executive and occupational health expert said, “There are common sense changes like fitted sheets, mops, or caps on daily room quotas that can make the difference between healthy bodies and hurt housekeepers. It is critical that we explore ways of making hotel work safe to reduce the high rates of injury that we see among housekeepers. Corporate-wide solutions are not only needed but are the most effective and less costly as they can be applied to multiple worksites”.
Hospitality and service sector workers in New York State should not tolerate being overworked and exposed to potentially harmful working conditions. Housekeepers and hotel staff who have been injured on the job should visit http://www.jcreiterlaw.com for a free case evaluation from a proven New York Workplace Injury Attorney.
