Occupational Health and Safety

This section describesthe evaluation criteria needed to meet performance and content standards.

Performance will beevaluated on the correct description of the legislation sections the originaltrial judges and the appeal judges relied as reported by Fogarty (2012) on whenreaching their decision in the work safety case below correctly referencing andin text citation using QUT APA.

Vic court upholds workplace death fine  

Victoria's appeal court has urged lawmakers tourgently examine the adequacy of penalties for companies fined for recklessendangerment of employees.

 The comments came as the court upheld a $750,000 finefor West Australian-based company Orbit Drilling, the first company convictedin Victoria of reckless endangerment over the death of an employee.

 Truck driver Bradley Alford, 21, had his truck licencefor just two weeks when he was told by his supervisor to drive a Mack truckwith faulty brakes down an off-road hill, near Kilmore in central Victoria, inDecember 2006.

 Mr Alford was unable to stop the truck, and he diedwhen it gained speed and rolled, crushing him under the cabin.

 Orbit pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court toengaging in reckless conduct that placed Mr Alford in danger of serious injuryand was convicted in 2010.

 The company was fined $750,000, and company directorMartin John Smith was fined $120,000.

 The maximum penalty for the company offence was$966,870.

 Both the company and Mr Smith appealed their sentencesarguing they were manifestly excessive.

 But on Thursday, their appeals were rejected byVictorian Court of Appeal president Chris Maxwell and justices BernardBongiorno and Emilios Kyrou who said Orbit's culpability was very high.

 The judges noted the penalty for the offence inVictoria was lower than in other states.

 "We recommend that the adequacy of the maximumunder section 32 be examined as a matter of urgency, to ensure it accuratelyreflects the seriousness of the offence as parliament conceived of it,"the justices wrote.

 They said the maximum penalty for the correspondingoffence in NSW was a fine of $3 million.

 The judges said Orbit was well aware of its health andsafety obligations, having previously won awards for OHS compliance.

 "In the circumstances, it almost defies beliefthat Orbit could knowingly have exposed one of its employees to a risk ofserious injury," they said.

 "This company knowingly exposed its newlyrecruited and untrained employee to grave danger, reckless as to theconsequences of doing so."

 The judges said there was also gross negligence on thepart of Mr Smith, who had failed in the standard of care required of him as thesole director and chief executive of the company.

 "Mr Smith's culpability is the greater by virtueof the fact that these deficiencies were capable of straightforward andlow-cost rectification," the judgment said.

In addition the evaluation will include the correct response to the hangman and the quiz in 6 or less attempts.

References

Fogarty, D (2012). Vic court upholds workplace deathfine, The Age. Retrieved on May 3, 2012 from http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/vic-court-upholds-workplace-death-fine-20120503-1y1k2.html

Rubric adapted from Kocher M (2001). GetRich Fast! A Web Quest for Business Students (9th-12th Grade), Subject:Entrepreneurship Unit.   Retrieved May 1, 2012 from http://www.yorkville.k12.il.us/webquests/webqkocher/webqskocher.html