ENV H 471: EH REGULATIONEXTENDED DEGREE PRPGRAM
Progress Assessment ExercisesLesson 14
Progress Assessment Exercises
Lesson 14. Agency & Personal Liability
Answer the questions on the following pages. Your responses should be brief, yet contain sufficient depth to demonstrate your understanding of the issues and/or concepts involved. All progress assessment exercises should be typewritten, well organized and clearly presented. You will be evaluated on the effectiveness and organization of your responses as well as on the substance of the content. When you have finished, email your answers to the instructor. You may also send them by US mail to:
Mr. Charles D. Treser
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
University of Washington
Campus Box 357234
Seattle, WA 98195-7234
PROGRESS ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 14
Name: / Date:1.When might a sanitarian act "under the color of statute"?
a.Would a routine inspection or investigation of a complaint qualify?
b.Under what circumstances?
c.What protection does a sanitarian have against this liability?
2.With regard to misconduct and the higher standard of conduct to which a government official is held, what is this standard of conduct and how is it determined?
a.What should be the conduct of a reasonably prudent sanitarian when a bulging can of green beans is discovered in a restaurant?
b.What about the identification of rat droppings in patient rooms in a nursing home?
c.What if a sanitarian sees an oily, odorous liquid being dumped into a sanitary landfill?
3.An environmental health practitioner can be held liable for breach of his/her normal duty to act as a reasonably prudent person and for malpractice. Three cases involving employee and/or agency liability were assigned for this lesson. Discuss the types and nature of the protections which are available to practitioners in each case, being sure to describe the primary issues of the case, the decision of the judge and his/her grounds for making the decision.
a.The situation in Wilson v. Health and Hospital Corp. [Reading #38].
b.The employee in Michael Yashko [Reading #39].
c.The inspector in Nathanson [Reading #40].
4.In this lesson we have discussed the three aspects of bribery. How do these apply to the following situations? What factors or additional information would be important to determin-ing the "facts" and the "law" in each case?
a.A sanitarian who accepts a free cup of coffee from the manager of a restaurant as they go over the list of violations at the conclusion of an inspection.
b.An industrial hygienist who accepts a name plate from one of the workers in an industrial engraving plant.
c.An environmental protection specialist who is invited to be the guest speaker (with a $500 honorarium) at a regional meeting of the solid waste contractors in his area.
5.What constitutes a conflict of interest?
a.Can a sanitarian inspect a restaurant owned or franchised by a national chain in which he/she owns stock?
b.Could an inspector sell Amway products to the employees of a business that he/she inspects? What if the sales occurred off of the premises? After regular working hours?
c.Could an inspector "moonlight" installing septic tanks in the county in which he/she works? What about in an adjacent county?
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Revised: 12/20/18