Human Resources Response to Chemical Plant Civil Lawsuit
Introduction: You are recently appointed as records manager
for a chemical plant. After two days of your joining, a major accident in the
plant results in the death of an employee and injury to several other
employees. As required by law, your task is to provide the requested employment
information to the government agencies, such as OSHA, Workers Compensation,
Social Security Administration, Health organizations, hospitals, the estate of
the deceased, and the court organizations. As you gather the data, your
company’s legal counsel informs you that a civil suit has been filed against
the company by the estate of the deceased employee.
Tasks:
1. What kind of employee information will the organization
need to provide to the concerned government agencies?
2. Which HR function is responsible for collecting
information related to a deceased or injured employee?
3. Which laws govern the maintenance of this type of
employment information?
4. How can you as a responsible records manager, assist your
company’s legal counsel in this matter?
