A new employee who joined the work site one week after the start of the project, was not given the safety training that the others received, especially with regard to high-voltage power lines. As the employee approached the power line with a metal tool in his hand, he electricity sparked from the power line to the metal tool he was carrying, and killed him. The employer was found to have violated the OSH Act. The appeals court reviewed the order which found a serious violation of a safety regulation and assessed a $5,500 penalty against the employer. Specifically, the Commission held that the employer violated the OSH Act by failing to train a now-deceased employee to recognize and avoid the electrocution hazard presented by a high-voltage overhead power line at his work site.

1. What is the legal issue in this case? What did the court decide? 

2. What did the Secretary of Labor have to show in order to establish a violation? How did this employer violate the OSH Act?

3. Why does the dissenting judge believe that there was no violation?

4. Regardless of this employer’s legal obligations, do you think that beer training would have averted this accident? Why or why not?