Wrongful Death News

The Role of Voluntary Guidelines

Voluntary guidelines, whether developed by governmental bodies such as OSHA, NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), or private organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), or others may be nothing more than a compilation of studies prepared by experts in a particular field. In the case of the late night retail guidelines, which are still in draft, the principles articulated therein are based largely on the laws, regulations, and guidelines of the states of Florida, Washington, and California, respectively.

OSHA intends to present these guidelines as a "best practices" guide, as a means of disseminating information, which interested employers are free, not forced, to utilize. The Guidelines do not create any new duties under the OSH Act. Therefore, an employer's failure to implement them does not constitute a violation of Section 5(a)(1). For example, when OSHA officially released its Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care and Social Service Workers, we followed up with a memorandum to our Regional Administrators stating that the Guidelines were for "educational purposes only," and that no citations should be issued based upon them. When the Guidelines for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs for Night Retail Establishments becomes final, we intend to send out the same type of notification.

If you have suffered financial or emotional distress due to the negligence of others in New Mexico, contact our wrongful death lawyer now and obtain a free case evaluation.

	Did You Know?
	There are those who cannot sue for wrongful death. A family member cannot sue another family member for wrongful death.