State ex rel. Hercules Painting Co. v. Industrial Commission
State ex rel. Hercules Painting Co. v. Industrial Commission
Opinion of the Court
The commission found a violation of Ohio AdmuCode 4121:1-3-10(K)(8), which provides:
“ * * * Each employee shall be protected by an approved safety belt attached to a lifeline. The lifeline shall be securely attached to substantial members of the structure (not scaffold) * * *.”
The commission’s order is confusing, as the differing interpretations by the referee and appellate court attest. The reasoning underlying the VSSR assessment is particularly critical in this case because it determines the nature of review. If the appellate court’s interpretation is correct, the order’s sufficiency turns on the presence of “some evidence.” If, on the other hand, the referee’s construction is correct, analysis is complete, as there is no question that the commission abused its discretion.
The referee’s interpretation is understandable given the order’s statement that “[i]t is not sufficient for the employer to ‘provide’ safety equipment somewhere on the job site.” This language is legally incorrect, since the duty of employer enforcement it implies conflicts with a different specific safety requirement — Ohio Adm.Code 4121:l-3-03(J)(l)
Upon review, we find that the appellate court’s interpretation of the commission’s order is the more sound. The referee’s interpretation overlooks a crucial finding — the commission’s determination that no safety belt and lifeline were available. This is a failure to provide safety equipment, not a failure to enforce its use. There is no need to reach the question whether the employer ensured equipment use if there was no equipment to use.
We must next determine whether “some evidence” supports the commission’s order. We answer this question in the affirmative. The commission relied on, and expressly cited, claimant’s affidavit which averred to the lack of safety equipment on the date of injury.
Accordingly, the appellate court’s judgment is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
. Ohio Adm.Code 4121:1 — 3—03(J)(1) provides:
“(J) Safety belts, lifelines and lanyards.
“(1) Lifelines, safety belts and lanyards shall be provided by the employer and it shall be the responsibility of the employee to wear such equipment when engaged in securing or shifting thrustouts, inspecting or working on overhead machines that support scaffolds, or on other high
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. To recover an award for the violation of a specific safety requirement (“VSSR”), a claimant must establish that the employer failed to comply with a specific safety requirement and that such failure resulted in claimant’s injury. Section 35, Article II, Ohio Constitution; State ex rel. Whitman v. Indus. Comm. (1936), 131 Ohio St. 375, 6 O.O. 88, 3 N.E.2d 52. A specific requirement “ ‘embraces such lawful, specific and definite requirements or standards of conduct * * * which are of a character plainly to apprise an employer of his legal obligations towards his employees.’ ” State ex rel. Frank Brown & Sons, Inc. v. Indus. Comm. (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 162, 163, 524 N.E.2d 482, 484,
Ohio Adm.Code 4121:1 — 3—10(K)(8) addresses two-point suspension scaffolds and provides that “[e]ach employee shall be protected by an approved safety belt attached to a lifeline.” Ohio Adm.Code 4121:1 — 3—03(J)(1), which specifically addresses safety belts, states that “ * * * safety belts and lanyards shall be provided by the employer and it shall be the responsibility of the employee to wear such equipment.” (Emphasis added.) Construing these two safety requirements most favorably to the employer, as we must, the only logical conclusion is that the employer’s duty is to provide safety belts and it is then incumbent on the employee to use them.
In his sworn statement, the claimant admits that “ * * * the employer did provide safety belt w/line,” but that on the date of his injury he could not find one. The majority then reasons that, because the claimant could not find a safety belt, this means that one was not provided. This conclusion does not follow the claimant’s specific statement to the contrary. By so concluding, the majority imposes upon the employer the duty to ensure that the employee uses proper safety equipment, even though the majority called this conclusion “legally incorrect” when it was offered by the commission. The simple, logical answer to the claimant’s inability to locate the safety belt he said had been provided by his employer is the same rule the General Assembly has announced for those under eighteen: if you cannot find the safety device, e.g., a helmet, don’t expose yourself to the danger, e.g., ride a motorcycle; if you do, you are liable for a misdemeanor. (R.C. 4511.53.)
An employer cannot be an absolute guarantor of the employee’s safety. State ex rel. Frank Brown & Sons, Inc., supra. Only those acts which are within the control of the employer may result in a VSSR award. Id. In this case, some evidence supports the conclusion that the employer fulfilled its legal obligation to
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The State ex rel. Hercules Painting Company v. Industrial Commission of Ohio
- Status
- Published