Occupational Safety & Health Act

The purpose of this research is to examine the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) not only to learn of its factual mandates, but, more importantly, to discover criticism levied against it by business, labor and consumer advocates alike resulting from problems many faced attempting to implement this controversial law.

Approved by Congress on December 29, 1970, OSHA in brief "aims to assure safe and healthful working conditions by ensuring enforcement of standards developed under the Act, by assisting and encouraging states in their efforts to assure such working conditions, and by providing for research, information, education and training in occupational safety and health."

The employer, under the Act, is responsible for ensuring safe and healthful working conditions, in particular for compliance with standards made by the Secretary of Labor for protection against "toxic materials and harmful physical agents, the use of warning labels or other forms of warning in regard to occupational hazards, appropriate emergency treatment, the use of protective equipment, the monitoring of employee exposure . . . and for standards to prescribe, where appropriate, medical examinations of employees exposed to occupational hazards."

Enforcement of the standards is in the hands of OSHA compliance officers. Inspections of businesses are made on a priority basis, according to the following scale:

(1) Investigations of situations involving catastrophes and fatalitie

nds of an administration which does not believe in the law's philosophy and purpose, despite White House rhetoric. The AFL-CIO believed that the Administration failed to request enough funds to ensure effective enforcement of the law. In testimony to the House Appropriations Sub-committee, director of the AFL-CIO's industrial union department, Jacob Clayman, said that the White House requests $104.6 million fell $68.8 million short of the program's real need for fiscal 1973. "The failure to ask for a workable budget is the major issue," Clayman continued. "This is critical for the whole enforcement of the law. None of this program can move without sound financing." One result of the underfunding is that there are not enough inspectors to enforce the law. In addition, labor spokespeople have criticized OSHA for moving too slowly in setting standards for toxic substances in the workplace. "We have more than 8,000 toxic substances in industry," Clayman said, "and only something over 400 minimal standards for them." Assistant Labor Secretary Guenther admitted that problems of occupational health will be the most difficult to solve. In his words: We are the first to concede that there are thousands and thousands of t