I work at a factory on an assembly line in Montana, and a piece of the product we make broke and caused the machine to stop. It happens often and is an easy fix, I took the machine out of auto as I was trained to do and proceeded to fix the problem, as soon as I reached in the machine malfunctioned started again and grabbed my hand, smashing it. The tip of my finger took most of the pressure and busted open requiring stitches and for me to miss work for the rest of the week (this week). My supervisor called stating that I was being let go due to unsafe work practices, there has not been and investigation and I was never interviewed as to what I did, how it happened or anything else, the only thing I was able to get in was that it caught my hand and smashed it.

Now this has also been compounded by the fact that I reported three other incidents of getting hurt in the past two months, nothing major, I just wanted to cover my *** and report everything that happened as per policy. I know plenty of other people that get hurt that do not report anything to the supervisor. Looking back I think that it would have been better not reporting the previous incidents considering the current situation that I am in, but I know it was the right thing to do. I did contact the OSHA supervisor and explain the situation and she said she would look into it and try and get something going in the way of a proper investigation. However, if it dosen't end up going anywhere is there any recourse I can take? I mean the whole situation is completely one sided and I got hurt on a machine that failed to operate properly and they don't seem to care. I stand by the fact that I followed procedure to the letter and the people who trained me and have been working with the same machine for years will agree with me I did the correct procedure to fix the jam that occurred.

I know Montana has some very specific laws regarding terminating employees and such, but I don't seem to be able to find any resources on the issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Are you a member of a union?

No, there is no union at the factory.

I would begin by looking at the OSHA statute and regulations in detail. There may very well be a prohibition on firing you under these circumstances.

Tough call with us not knowing the details of the other injuries. Montana is not an "at will employment" state so they have to show cause and be able to defend their claim.

First if there was no need for medical treatment and just minor accident, no you don't report them, if you do and have a history of making accidents reports almost any firm is going to find a reason to fire you.

Sticking your hand into a machine that is still on ( with electric power on) is not a safe method, so it may be you were trained improperly, There should be a power shut out and a OSHA lock out and tag out program in place in an industrial setting.

If you were not trained properly you will need to prove it, and prove you did nothing dangerous.

On the positive, they can not fire you till you are released to return to work. Bad news often you are not paid for the first week of loss work, just medical bills paid.

The other injuries were just, what us at the at the factory consider "routine", minor cuts, smashing of fingers that does not result in any visible damage. My first injury caused me to lose a finger nail, that was another thing I was trained to do that was improper. The machine itself is designed to run with your hands in places that are dangerous, it is just the nature of the machine it is the only real way to be able to do the job for which it was designed to do. The other two injuries were the same, just a few minor lesions. I have been working there six months and while I really wanted to maintain a low profile like everyone else, I know from experience that even minor injuries can turn into severe problems. I know people that get hurt way more than I do but they just don't report it and of course the company loves them. There are or course several areas that do require lock-out tag-out procedure and I follow all safety precautions that I was trained to do to the letter.

Looking back at the situation, there were of course safer ways to do what I did, however since this happens on a frequent basis it is not efficient to lock-out for the specific problem every time. Especially since the only way to fix the problem and be able to remove or adjust anything that happens in the area in question, is to disable the auto and put the machine in what the company considers a safe operational mode.

On top of that my supervisor who wrote up the report stated that he told me earlier that I am to grab the broken or jammed pieces and throw them out of the machine instead of just adjusting them. He is claiming that would be the safer way to do it, but I disagree completely. If I would have completely grabbed the material my hand would have definitely been pulled into the machine and there is no doubt I would have at the least lost my hand. I know an investigation will find that I was doing the correct procedure that I was trained to do. However as it stands it just seems like they are trying to just make the issue go away with a half arsed report with erroneous assumptions and by removing me from the picture.

While I am all for accepting responsibilities for my actions, and that if I present myself to be unsafe to myself or others I do become a liability. I would have no problem accepting that I will be terminated and that I need to find employment elsewhere. However, it would be irresponsible of me in this situation to accept that I am at fault and not find a way to fight to fix the procedure, possibility the equipment and keep my job.

Hello L:

I don't know who was right here. Fortunately, we don't have to decide. That's not our function... Our function is to offer YOU legal advice, and my advice to you is visit a labor lawyer.

excon

Thanks for the advice.