Investors can identify companies that exceed a specific threshold or use a comparative measure to identify companies with fine totals that place the company in the bottom of its industry. In addition to fine totals, investors can identify companies that OSHA has assessed serious violations of workplace safety rules. Plant Closing and Relocation PSS researches companies that have violated the WARN Act, which attempts to mandate 60-day advance notice for closures or mass layoffs. There is no enforcement agency for the Warn Act, so only courts can determine employer violations. Partly because of the necessity to go to court, it is difficult for complainants to pursue Warn Act cases, and few cases have gone to court.
Investors can identify companies that have violated the WARN Act within the past three years.
Unionization PSS gathers data on the portion of a company's work force that is unionized by examining corporate 10-K reports. In most cases, PSS can gather information on a company's worldwide work force, but data on US employees is used when available. When data is available, investors can identify companies whose unionization rate is less than a certain threshold or whose rate, when compared to the unionization rates of other companies in their industry, is lower than a certain percentage of the industry.