So long as the employees are aware of the potential on-the-job dangers, which they must be simply by having been hired, they have the right to choose whether or not to work long hours or to wear protective gear. A person who enters an automobile does so knowing that highway accidents are common; a bicycle rider who does not wear a helmet makes s similar choice. To deny the rights of individuals insults their intelligence
In fact, the rules and regulations that strangle personal freedoms also squelch the individual's intellect because when told what to do, a person is likely to follow the rules blindly without investigating the real risks involved. Mandating protective gear might, in fact, lead to a false sense of security among workers who believe that their hard hats will protect them in any situation when in fact, they will not. Libertarianism respects the rights and abilities of individuals to learn and to educate...
No one would suggest that the state should warn all women of childbearing age of the dangers of childbirth. Assuming that a pregnant woman cannot make decisions regarding her own health and safety insults her intelligence. She is responsible for her well-being and that of her child. She has the right to carry her child to term, even if she can barely afford to pay her rent. The state doesn't force women to abort their children if they are poor, and similarly, the CEO of a corporation should not force pregnant women to avoid working when they need the money to support their child. An employee's gender does not impact the CEO's decision to create more rules or more "signs," because all individuals in the company and in the society have the right to make their own decisions.
