Industrial Law relates to the laws governing industrial enterprises. These can include a wide range of legal topics, from employment laws to environmental concerns, contracts, industrial relations, and worker safety regulations. Industries vary widely and the policies for each is as unique as the business to which it relates.
Employment and labor laws are relevant to any commercial enterprise, and industry is no exception. Indeed, industrialization led not only to the modern conveniences of our technological age, but also the rise of organized labor unions. Employment and labor issues in industrial enterprises are particularly important, given the often hazardous nature of the work.
Another major area of concern to industrial laws is accidents. Industrial workplaces vary widely depending on industry and purpose, from the clean rooms of high-tech manufacturing, to the often dangerous and noisy welding floors of heavy industry. Factories, warehouses, chemical plants, refineries, and many other facilities may also be considered industrial workplaces. Common industrial accidents include forklift accidents, falling objects, slips, trips, and falls, machinery or equipment injuries, explosions or blast injuries, and chemical burns or inhalation. Industrial accident injuries can often be more severe than other workplace injuries given the nature of the work. Indeed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is estimated that two out of every 1,000 industrial workers will lose their life from a workplace accident. As a result, personal injury laws are a major area of practice related to industrial laws.