Philosophy 2074F/G : Employees Right to Knowledge.docx

• School: Western University
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: Philosophy 2074F/G
• Professor: Porter

Document Summary

The right to a healthy and safe work environment. Workers are entitled to expect that they will remain: safe from immediate injury, healthy from disease as a result of long-term exposure to hazards in the workplace. Workers could be in danger of suffering injury before a proper investigation of the suspected danger, so they need to be able to refuse to work until the hazards can be assessed. For workers to refuse work the law requires they must have: a reasonable belief there is danger and be able to show it, the danger can only be avoided by refusing the work. The right to know can help protect a workers autonomy. Can be justified on utilitarian grounds: workers that are aware of hazards will be better equipped to protect themselves, if risk determines wages, the only means of assessing risk is with full information.