What Is OSHA?

The Occupational Safety and Health Act purpose is to assure that individuals are working in safe environments. OSHA has been around for over 40 years and has come with many advantages as well as disadvantages. According to OSHA, “nursing homes and personal care facilities has had one the highest injury and illness rates, workers have faced numerous amounts of health hazards, and disorders compared to other work places”. These obstacles occurring in the health care work force has lead to the NYS Safe Patient Handling Act. This act consists of programs ensuring workers are better educated on how to prevent injuries, reduce disorders and improve quality of care towards patients.

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 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) was passed to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work. The law requires that employers provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which sets and enforces protective workplace safety and health standards. OSHA also provides information, training and assistance to workers and employers. Workers may file a complaint to have OSHA inspect their workplace if they believe that their employer is not following OSHA standards or there are serious hazards. “OSHA's commitment is to provide information to help employers and employees in the meat-packing industry comply with OSHA standards and increase safety in the workplace. There are currently no specific standards for the meat-packing industry.” (OSHA, N.D).

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

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.

With the area director allowing for an informal meeting to take place, it is up to me to make sure that I come prepared to this meeting. Making sure that I have all of the facts on why I believe that OSHA should lower penalties and decrease the severity level of some of the citations. I will be bringing with me to the meeting my newly hired Industrial Hygienist and the new Manager of Plant Safety (MPS) to speak in depth about the new safety measures that have been put in place. Before bringing up individual citations I am going to bring up OSHA's own rules on lowering fines based on certain facts about the company in which the citation was levied.

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

The Occupations Safety and Health Review Commission reviews OSHA citations and operates independently of OSHA itself. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health exists to research safety and health problems. They assist OSHA in creating new health and safety standards. They have the right to inspect the workplace and obtain information from employers and employees about hazardous materials. They also train inspectors and other people associated with enforcing OSHA regulations. (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010)

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.

At 2012, the population of the workforce in the United States was estimated by the U.S. civilian labor force as 155 million workers. Having a stable job can contribute positively to that individual’s physical and psychological health. However, work environment can be a source of many hazardous issues that may lead to work-related injuries or illnesses, which may be fatal and in many cases nonfatal. On the other hand, occupational injuries can have a negative effect on the United States’ economy; it is estimated that nonfatal injuries can cost the economy approximately $200 billion annually, while fatal injuries are estimated to cost $6 billion annually. Managing these issues is an important task which could be approached in many different ways. Dealing with the issues helps in the protection of workers, not to mention it can decrease the losses to the economy associated with this matter. An example of prevention efforts, is the CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report (CHDIR), which assess disparities across a wide range of diseases, behavior risk factors, environmental exposures, social determinants, and health-care access. But in order to establish such programs and reports, an initial and important step is having information on the most frequent occupational fatal and non-fatal injuries and illnesses in the United States, which should be provided through routine, if not annual statistical reports. Fortunately, such information exists in the United States, those

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