ABSTRACT
Utilizing the individual state’s criminal code, state and/or local prosecutors are taking an active role in workplace safety and health through the enforcement of state criminal sanctions against employers for on-the-job deaths and serious injuries. The area of workplace safety and health has, since the enactment of the OSHA Act in 1970, been exclusively within the domain of OSHA and state plan programs. State prosecutors have recently challenged OSHA’s federal preemption of this area and have created an entirely new area of potential personal criminal liability that the safety and health professional should be prepared to address on an individual and corporate basis in the event of a disaster situation.
