Billions of people use the Internet for work-related purposes. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, the fastest growing demographic for Internet workers is people aged 45 to 54. This is the same age group that is most likely to engage in workplace injury litigation. Internet use in the workplace results in direct and indirect harm to Internet workplace users.
The Internet workplace is a direct source of injury to Internet workplace users. Due to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) record-keeping regulation (29 C.F.R. 1904), which requires employers to prepare and maintain records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses, many Internet workplace injuries are known. Internet workplace injuries include burns from overheated computer elements, broken bones from dropping computer elements on body parts, sudden onset of job-related pain usually from working in a fixed position in front of an Internet terminal, sensory losses such as eye strain related to viewing a computer screen, repetitive injuries usually related to keyboard use, among others.
