OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is a federal law that requires all employers to provide employees with a work environment that is free from recognizable dangers likely to cause death or serious physical injury. If employers fail to comply with the mandate they are likely to be cited and fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). If employers do nothing to prevent or ameliorate a recognizable hazard, they are in violation of the General Duty Clause which mandates employers have a general duty in this regard. OSHA is part of the U.S. Department of Labor and it has been a source of controversy from its inception. On the one hand, businesses complain that regulations mandated by the agency are too stringent and that the costs for complying with them are harmful to small companies. On the other hand, labor groups complain the agency has been ineffectual at reducing workplace hazards and uses enforcement procedures which have little bite. This analysis will discuss the reasons why the law establishing OSHA was passed, the main provisions of the law, who administers the law and enforcement procedures, and the impact of the law across a variety of groups.

The main reasons for the establishment of Occupational Safety and Health Act are over a century old because improving workplace safety legislation existed since President Chester A. Arthur signed the bill which created the

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of business, travel expenses. The impact of Occupational Safety and Health Act has been extensive and successful for many, while costly to some. While it has been a constant source of controversy since its inception, it has nonetheless been extremely successful in many aspects of workplace and employee safety. OSHA, administering the provisions under the Act, has many success stories to its credit. For example, brown lung disease was basically eliminated as an occupational hazard in the textile industry because of the cotton dust standard enacted by OSHA. In addition, tens of thousands of lives that may have been lost due to occupational hazards have been saved through the actions of OSHA, “Since 1970, the overall workplace death rate has been cut in half. That’s more than 100,000 workers who might have died on the job, but didn’t because of improved safety and health. Experience has also shown that OSHA inspections can have real, positive results: according to a recent study, in the 3 years following OSHA inspection that results in penalties, injuries and illnesses drop on average 22 percent.” Companies, typically one source of criticism against OSHA and the Act, have also benefited from OSHA’s success in administrati
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Approximate Word count = 2984
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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