Jane was employed by ABC Construction Company as a forklift operator. She noticed that the foreman was taking shortcuts on some of the trenching which caused a dangerous condition that could possibly cause injury to employees who were close to the area of the trench. Jane was not at risk of being hurt by the shortcut in the trenching operation. Jane refused to do the work because of her belief that the trenching work was not being done in a safe manner. Jane was told to punch out and go home. Jane would like to file a claim against her employer.

We will be conducting a classroom debate on this case. Presume you have been hired to represent either the Jane or ABC Construction in this case (students are assigned by their last name see below). Provide the class in your initial response a statement as to why your client’s position is correct. For those representing ABC Construction, explain why the company was within its rights to send Jane home without pay. For those representing the employee Jane, explain why she is justified in refusing to do work in light of a dangerous condition on the worksite.

I would be representing Jane and will be following the debate in light of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) act. According to the OSHA act, employers are responsible for the provision of a safe and healthy workplace to their employees. Failing to do so could lead to a refusal. According to the section of the OSHA act, An employee has the right to refuse to work, if all of the below-mentioned conditions are met:

A real and imminent danger of serious injury or death exists in the workplace.
Where possible the employee has asked the employer to eliminate the danger.
The employer has failed to eliminate the danger.
The employee refuses to work because the employee believes, in good faith, that there is an imminent danger of serious injury or death.

As the foreman of ABC construction was using shortcuts in trenching and thus stigmatized the trenching. This could lead to a dangerous situation for the area of the trench leading to its collapse. This is an indication of imminent danger and thus the employee in the area of the trench has a serious threat to his/her life Thus Jane is right in her claim to refuse to work until safe working conditions are provided.