Hazardous Workers And Risk For Third Parties

Abstract Impaired workers, unable to practice their activities with effective skills and adequate safety protection because of physical or mental illness, alcohol and drug addiction, inappropriate behaviour as a consequence of fatigue, sleepiness, or distress, may be hazardous for colleagues and customers. To properly manage these workers, public health must resolve the ethical dilemma arising from the legitimate interests of all stakeholders. The sick worker's interests include career expectations, role in organization, right to privacy, and right to freedom from discrimination. The customer's interests include protection from harm, right to autonomy, and right to informed choice. The society's interests include maintaining effective and affordable public services, as well as the benefits and burdens of any policies. Traditional ethics, oriented toward the individual relationship, failed to find an uncontroversial solution to these complex issues. Our research pointed to the organisation level. The La.R.A. Study group on Hazardous Workers was set up in 1999 in Italy, to study how to protect the health and safety of impaired workers and that of third parties, without prejudice to the civil rights of workers. The group includes many subject matter experts like: doctors from different specialties, jurists, bioethicists, employees' and employers' representatives. It is independent and not financed. The ethical, legal and operational aspects of each specific problem are discussed from different points of view and at the end a consensus document containing the practical indications for the prevention operators is produced. Over the years, Lara has produced 10 consensus documents on specific problems and has stimulated companies to develop policies for hazardous workers, preferably according to a bottom-up participatory model. The collective definition of methods and solutions allows management of hazardous workers. Key messages Disability management is preferable to exclusion from work. A shared company policy is the basic principle of management of hazardous workers.