OSHA Importance

Osha is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration  an agency of the United States Department of Labor. Osha requires employers to provide their employees with safety from all known dangers. Osha was created December 29, 1970, and it was signed by president Richard M. Nixon.

This case is followed by the laws and regulations of OSHA. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) is an organization that has been put into place to ensure the safety of employees while on their jobs. These regulations are put into place to help reduce the number of on the job injuries and deaths.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), often referred to as the "OSH Act," was enacted in 1970 by President Richard M. Nixon. Its purpose is to assure safe and healthful working conditions for men and women (EPA, 2006). The Act is administered and enforced at the national level by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the US Department of Labor. The application of the OSH Act in the current employment climate will be discussed as it applies to a variety of industries; considerations that are most applicable to the specific type of industry will be discussed initially, and those that are equally important regardless of the type of business will complete the section. Finally, this paper will discuss how the

In contradiction to the downgrading tone presented in the previous discussion towards OSHA and its involvement in the meatpacking industry, the implementation of OSHA had some uplifting attributes even though it had minute significance to the cause as presented by the scholarly individual, Dr. Sears, and the two notable muckraker, Eric Schlosser and Upton Sinclair. In cohesion to the upbringing of change due to OSHA, Claire Epstein’s article, “Keeping OSHA Records” enhances the awareness of the regulatory incorporation’s care for the workers safety and documentation by stating “Employers with more than 11 employees who are not in partially exempt industries are required to keep OSHA recordkeeping logs to track information on OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses” (Epstein). But not only did OSHA begin collecting records of the employees, but in “OSHA Updates Guide on Training Requirements” by Professional Safety, OSHA supplies workers with news occurring to fellow members of the country-wide workforce, and in this case is an injury pertaining to “Harco” and his personal negligence and misunderstanding of faulty hardware in order to prevent similar injuries and to analyze the faults and fabricate new directions to have a safer time when in the workplace (Professional Safety). In addition to the article, Professional Safety provides a handbook for workers that may/may not suppress the confusion, but is a sole act of generosity. In comparison, The United States Department of

Despite undeniable efforts investing in safety and health within the workplace, occupational accidents continue to account for injuries and deaths every year (Cadieux et al, 2006). In Quebec alone in the year of 2004, 176 deaths and 128,104 occupational injuries were registered by the National OHS board (Cadieux et al, 2006). In order to improve these rates worldwide, Occupational Health and Safety Management systems are developed and implemented in the workplace.

To accomplish these purposes, the OSH Act established a framework of regulatory standards and specific enforcement authority under the Act which were calculated to reform unsafe work place practices and reduce the number of health and safety hazards. This, in turn, would also reduce the total number of work place accidents.

Through the years, OSHA has developed much of its history aligninment with the periods the new ideas and safety regulations that were current at the time. OSHA has changed over time and rearranged itself into what we know. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, was signed into law by President Nixon on the 29th of December in 1970. Much history and anguish had to take place before the groundwork for OSHA could even be brought to the table.

In 1970 OSHA was designed to set in place guidelines to organize and regulate practices to reduce the injuries and accidents in the work place. These guidelines are there to both protect the worker and the employer. If the health care worker follows these important guidelines and is injured, the employer is responsible. However, if the injury or accident is a result to the worker’s negligence or disrespect to the procedure and guidelines, then the worker is at fault.

OSHA standards mandate that the Practice implement controls, work and safety procedures and that it provide personal protective equipment which, when combined with employee training, will reduce on-the-job risks for all employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals, blood borne pathogens, or other infectious diseases.

Employees can file a complaint against their workplace if they feel that their employer is not following the OSHA standards. Employers who repeatedly violate OSHA standards can receive fines up to $70,000 for each violation. The amount fined depends on the severity of the violation. For example, if a violation isn’t serious, OSHA might fine up to $7,000. If the employer doesn’t correct the problem in a timely manner, OSHA might issue an additional $7,000 fine for each day the violation remains unfixed.

OSHA regulates the “general industry”, therefore the industry has to comply with OSHA standards. However, OSHA does exclude agriculture, construction, and maritime businesses. OSHA also does not cover self-employed businesses, or businesses with less than 10 employees (family members don’t count).The purpose of OSHA is to: “Assure the safety and health of workers at the workplace, wherever that may be.” They enforce standards by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA also provides employees with training as well as gives them the right to requesting a inspection of their workplace environmentPresident Nixon and Congress helped create the OSHA Act of 1970 and it was later established in 1971. One who brought OSHA into

The uptake of OSHA rules and regulations by an firm especially on within the construction industry would lead to reduced losses in form of compensation for workers due to accidents, law suits and costly settlements, cost of replacing machinery, the inconvenience of federal investigation and lost man hours which translates to forgone profits. Thus companies would rather comply with OSHA rules and regulations to offset threats on their possible future incomes.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) was developed and approved because of the escalating costs of accidents and illnesses in the workplace. According to Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy (2010), OSHA is a national law that requires organizations to offer a safe and healthy workplace, to conform with particular occupational and health standards, and to document job-related injuries and diseases.

The employer also has to comply with all standards, rules, and regulations that are set forth by OSHA and the OSH Act. Employers are required to inspect the workplace to insure they are up to OSHA standards. Insure that employees are only using safe tools and equipment that are in their proper condition. It should be easy for the employees to be aware of potential hazards by the employer posting signs, using color codes, labels, or signs to convey warning. Employees must be trained in a language that they understand. Operating procedures must be in place and properly communicated to the employees to assure the employees follow safety and health standards. Employers that house or use hazardous chemicals will be required to have hazardous communication program and for that all the employees to be trained on exposure and precautions. Employers are to fund medical exams if required by OSHA standards. The OSHA poster must placed in a prominent location at the workplace. Records need to be kept of work-related injuries and illnesses. The log of these injuries and illnesses need to made available on February 1st for three months. Assure employees have access to medical and exposure records. Provide a workplace free of discrimination. OSHA citations must be posted at or near the work area where the infraction occurred. The citation must be in place for three working days or until the

To implement effective occupational health and safety management, managers, supervising personnel and employees require a range of systematic OHS strategies based on clearly defined practices, procedures and systems.