From: ae547@yfn.ysu.edu (Ronda Hauben)
Subject: Michigan's Health and Safety Law Gets Abandoned in Court 
Reply-To: ae547@yfn.ysu.edu (Ronda Hauben)
Organization: St. Elizabeth Hospital, Youngstown, OH
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1992 12:31:32 GMT


All the Candidates have been talking about Health and Safety Laws. Recently
the Governor of Michigan in his speech before the Republican National
Convention spoke referred to Health and Safety Laws as a problem of
the Democratic Candidate. The Democratic Party claims it is for 
vigorous enforcement of Health and Safety Laws. But when it comes to
the real life enforcement of the laws, there is no one to stand up
to large corporations who violate the laws.

For example, there has been a case working its way through the system
in Michigan. Originally there was a decision from an administrtive
law judge at the Michigan Department of Labor that a large Japanese
auto company in Michigan had violated the Michigan Occupational Safety
and Health Act (MIOSHA) by not training a worker and instead when the 
worker complained about lack of training, putting the person in a dangerous
situation and threatening the person.

After the Judgement in favor of the person, (which is very rare that
the Michigan Department of Labor finds in favor of a worker over a 
company), the large Japanese auto company appealed to the Wayne
County Circuit Court. They made no effort to correct the situation
that they had been found in violation of the law for. The Company
did not try to determine its back liability as the decision from
the Michigan Department of Labor had explained should happen. Instead,
they just appealed the decision.

Their brief to the judge at the Wayne County Circuit Court complained
that they were the victim of "Japan bashing" and that they should
have the decision thrown out.

The Judge disagreed and instead affirmed the decision.

The Company then appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals. 

Up to this point the Michigan Department of Labor entered the 
Court case and defended its decision.

Once the case got to the Appeals Court, however, the large Japanese
auto company filed two special motions. One motion explained that they were 
not the "real party in interest" and thus there was a new party that was
assuming the conduct of the lawsuit. Secondly, they filed a motion under a
special court rule intended for criminal cases to allow the criminal case
to go back to the Circuit Court. Only this Company filed a motion to send
the MIOSHA case back to the Department of Labor to reopen the case to
change the ruling on the question of liability. The issues they identied
had been ruled on by the original judge saying that the Company was
liable to pay back pay for full time work, but now the company wanted
the ruling changed so they could get out of paying any back pay.

The motions were scheduled for hearing before the Appeals Court on
August 18. Any answer to them had to be filed by August 17.

Initially the Michigan Department of Labor filed no answers to the 
motions although they verbally claimed they were opposed to them.

However, after the worker filed answers opposing both motions on the 
groups that they were contrary to the court rules and that they were
asking the court to do things that the law didn't allow for, and that 
the entire appeal had now been taken over by a nonparty to the case,
the Michigan Department of Labor filed answers 3 days late.

Their answers said that they didn't oppose either motion. The motions
have the effect of rendering the decision against the large company
useless as 1)It is no longer liable for any damages as it has transferred
its interest to some other party to pursue the lawsuit, with no 
affadavit as required by the court rules or chance for the other 
worker to keep in the Company, as court rules would allow if the
motion had been filed in a way that the rules provide for and
2)Since there was no court rule allowing for the case to be sent back,
once the case is sent back, the judge hearing the case will understand
that the Michigan Court of Appeals is encouraging the violation of 
any rules or laws regarding the case. Thus the Judge will have no
choice but to give the Company what it wants.

There has not yet been a decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals
on these two motions. 

But the Michigan Department of Labor has announced to the Court and
to the world that it has no regard for its own decisions regarding
health and safety violations of large companies. Even if a worker
has the stamina and endurance to bring a charge to the Department 
of Labor under the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health law (MIOSHA)
which is Michigan's way of supposedly enforcing OSHA, it will eventually
prove futile. Even if there is a positive decision at the level
of the Department of Labor, and even at the Circuit Court level,
once the decision goes to the Michigan Court of Appeals, the 
Michigan Department of Labor will allow the Companies involved to
play whatever games they want.

Michigan law and Court rules require that such administrative decisions
be enforced unless a stay is granted by the Court. This is now 4 years
after the original charge was filed and a year after the postiive 
decision was given. The Company has not applied for a stay. Yet
there has been no enforcement of the decision. And now the special
motions that have been brought by the Company in violation of what
is allowed for by the Court Rules, will have the effect of voiding
the entire decision.

It is too expensive for the worker to appeal any decision to the 
Supereme Court. The Company has endless money for it to appeal.
And the Michigan Department of Labor has given the Company a 
green light to make up its own rules and to manuever until it
gets the decision it wants.

So much for Health and Safety laws in Michigan.

Is the situation in other countries like Germany, Canada, etc.
any different? I have heard that in Canada workers do get some 
support of the government in their effort to have the laws 
enforced.

That isn't true in Michigan, but there is no press in Michigan to
bring to public attention what actually goes on. Instead the
press, tv, etc. show the Governor talking about the importance
of Health and Safety laws and their enforcement.
 
-- 
Ronda Hauben                    email address:ae547@yfn.ysu.edu
Amateur Computerist Newsletter              or
P.O. Box 4344                   rhauben@heartland.bradley.edu
Dearborn, MI 48126