On December 29, 1970 the Occupational and Health Act (OSH Act) was signed into law. This was to ensure that all Americans workers have safe and healthy working conditions. In order to achieve this goal the, Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created shortly after. The role of OSHA is to issue set standards and rules to help maintain safe workplace conditions. Another role of OHSA is to inspect workplaces to ensure companies are complying with the standards. (Schneid,2014) OSHA partners with 26 states and territories that run their own OSHA-approved workplace safety and health programs. Those state-run programs control an additional 37 million employees in 2.4 million work sites. (Schneid 2014) In addition to setting …show more content…
(Schneid 2014)
Legal Environment Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), companies are mandated to provide a safe workplace for their employees. Employees who are concerned about an unsafe condition may file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which will conduct an investigation and fine a company for any violations it finds. The OSH Act and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) both give employees the right to refuse to work in conditions they believe are unsafe.
The employees must have a reasonable, good-faith belief that working would be unsafe, but the law protects them even if they’re honestly mistaken about the danger. The two laws have slightly different standards. The National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) clearly would protect a refusal to work if conditions were actually unsafe or if employees had a “reasonable and honest belief” that the work presented a safety hazard. If the employee’s concentrated action was deemed unreasonable? The NLRB specifies that it would protect unreasonable actions as well.
Human Resource Management Role Human Resource Management plays a vital role when dealing with safety in the workplace. Often times Human Resource Managers serves as a legal liaison between the organization and the employees. Human resource managers are to uphold the employment and safety laws (OSHA and civil rights act) as well as
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.
The Occupational Health & Safety Act was introduced in 1979 and provides organizations with a legal framework to deal with workplace health and safety issues. The Act deals with the rights and responsibilities of work parties, and provides services to assist organizations in maintaining health standards to prevent workplace accidents. Under this act, the government also conducts research studies, gathers statistics on occupational accidents, and develops educational programs to encourage occupational health and safety.
In addition, Williams violated 29 C.F.R. § 1926.651(k) (1) for failing to designate a “competent person” with sufficient training and knowledge to identify and correct existing and predictable hazards (www.dol.gov). No supervisor at the Company was familiar with the basic standards applicable to the worksite or otherwise “capable of identifying and correcting existing and predictable hazards in their surroundings.” The court disagreed that the Company discharged its OSHA duties merely by relying on the general work experience of Dzamba and J.P. Williams or “common sense.”
It is unavailing for Williams to argue that employees must take greater care to avoid placing themselves in harm's way or that management can “expect an employee not [to] intentionally place himself in danger, because such a claim misconstrues the purpose of the OSHA safety standards. In turn, Williams’ argument was not effective due to the fact that it is the responsibility of the foreman and/or owner of the construction to provide training to any new hire or reassigned employee working on the site. OSHA also provided testimony and/or proof from there investigation that employees were not being trained before they began working on the site. It is the responsibility of any employer to ensure that all employees have been provided company safety manuals and OSHA regulations, as well as training sessions to make sure they are knowledgeable of the information. The company demonstrated negligence when a supervisor testified that the safety manual was behind the seat of his truck and he never referred to it to make sure they followed safety protocol. Therefore, the fines should not have been decreased from $91,000 to $22,000 nor
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
“Everyone has the right to a safe workplace. The law requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. Employers MUST provide their employees with a workplace that does not have serious hazards and follow all relevant OSHA safety and health standards. You cannot be transferred, denied a raise, have your hours reduced, be fired, or punished in any other way because you used any right given to you under the OSHA Act.”
The OSH Act of 1970 came about following a congressional finding that personal injuries and illnesses arising out of work situations impose a “substantial burden upon, and are a hindrance to, interstate commerce in terms of lost production, wage loss, medical expenses, and disability compensation payments”. Congress declared it to be within its rights, by virtue of its power to regulate commerce, to assure all people safe and healthy working conditions and to preserve human resources.
Employers rule is to find a suitable man or woman to accept and perform the job properly, but this doesn’t mean that you need to accept any offer and work. Every worker has the right to refuse to do unsafe work. If you think that the workplace is unsafe, inform your employer properly that there’s nothing you can do about the work because it is unsafe, you must have a reason that a hazardous situation exist. That you will not perform any task until the workplace is safe.
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.
Employees are expected to obey safety rules, follow established safe work practices and exercise caution in all their work activities. Failure to abide by established safety procedures can result in disciplinary, up to and including termination.
Employers MUST provide their employees with a workplace that does not have serious hazards and follow all relevant OSHA safety and health standards. Employers must find and correct safety and health problems. OSHA further requires employers to try to eliminate or reduce hazards first by making changes in working conditions rather than just relying on masks, gloves, ear plugs or other types of personal protective equipment (PPE). Switching to safer chemicals, enclosing processes to trap harmful fumes, or using ventilation systems to clean the air are examples of effective ways to get rid of or minimize risks (OSHA 3302 - 09R,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has come a lengthy way to cut the death rates of firefighters in half. In 1970, they implemented a plan to help change working conditions for all Americans. OSHA was charged with the accountability of fulfilling health and safety standards, conducting inspections, issuing citations and penalties for noncompliance of regulations. OSHA created a division called National Institute Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This division, the NIOSH, conducted research on the causes and prevention of work-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths, then provide information on what new measures can be used to prevent this from occurring so often. The group was
According to the Bureau of Labor, statistics indicate that more than 4.1 million people were hurt or injured on-the-job in 2006 and 5,488 were killed in 2007 (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010, p. 511). Laws and regulatory requirements are currently in place to standardize and promote workplace safety. Organizations with extensive safety programs have reduced number of accidents, decreased workers’ compensation claims and lawsuits and lesser accident-related expenditures (Gomez-Mejia, et al, 2010, p. 511). This paper discusses the effects of legal, safety and regulatory requirements in
Criminal prosecutions under the OSHA are beyond doubt warranted. The OSHA has been successfully prosecuting corporations relating the workers death in The United States. There was a recent headline about a man that died in Buffalo at The Tonawanda Coke Corporation plant. OSHA officials want to investigate whether or not guards were placed properly to prevent such a tragedy. The corporation has been through multiple incidents in which furthered the investigation. It has been fined a few times in the past for safety violations. Circumstances like this are the reason why the OSHA has to investigate and prosecute. According to the World Socialist Web Site, 4,679 workers in The United States were killed on the job in the year 2014. Thanks to the OSHA, statistically fatal injuries have decreased, the work place has become healthier and the conditions became safer. The OSHA can also prevent an illness from breaking out. I would feel more comfortable knowing that the OSHA is making sure where I work every day is not contaminated and safe.
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