Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

OSHA & Workplace Security OSHA and the Regulatory/Legal

OSHA and the Regulatory/Legal Framework

In recent years, crime in the workplace has increasingly been recognized as a serious workplace safety issue. As such, providing security for workers against crime in the workplace falls under the purview of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and thus of OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, 2004, p. 3). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has defined violence in the workplace as "violent acts (including physical assaults and threats of assaults) directed toward persons at work or on duty" (OSHA, 2004, p. 4).

While most public attention has been captured by dramatic multiple killings such as have made "disgruntled postal worker" part of our popular lexicon, workplace homicides are more often associated with robbery than with crimes of passion (Toscano and Weber, 1995, p. 43). Cab drivers and chauffeurs are by far the most at-risk for fatal workplace violence, with 43 homicides per 100,000 workers. This occupational group accounts for nearly 10 percent of all workplace homicides, though it makes up less than one-half of one percent of the workforce. Retail sales clerks and gas station attendents suffer homicide rates of 11.1 and 11.3 per 100,000 respectively, nearly identical to that of police officers, 11.2 per 100,000 (Toscano and Weber, 1995, p. 44). While in general robbery is the prime motive behind workplace assaults, patterns vary by industry. Hospital workers, for example, are most at risk from emotionally distraught patients or patients' family members (NIOSH, 2002, p. 2).

The rubric of authority under which OSHA exercises broad regulatory authority over workplace safety in general, including providing security from violence in the workplace, is the "General Duty Clause." According to an OSHA handbook,

All employers have a general duty to provide their employees with a workplace free from

...

Page 1 of 2 Next >

More on OSHA & Workplace Security OSHA and the Regulatory/Legal...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
OSHA & Workplace Security OSHA and the Regulatory/Legal. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 17:30, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1703341.html