The “Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)” is the agency of the “United States in the Department of Labor” that was established by the “William Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)” in the year 1970. The Act took the effects of its action in 1971. OSHA has a lot of training, compliance assistance, and health and safety recognition programs, which are essential in its history (Martin, William, & James, 2001). In 1972, it established the OSHA Training Institute, which aims at training the government and private sector personnel on health and safety measures. It also established a grant-making program called the “Susan Harwood Training Grant Program”, which trains employers so that they can reduce workplace hazards.
The mission and purpose of establishing OSHA are to ensure that each working woman and man in the whole country is employed under safe and healthy working conditions. Almost every employed person in the United States of America comes under the jurisdiction of OSHA. The only people who are exempted are the self-employed people, the public employees, the people working in the mining sector, and the transportation sector since they are covered by the other different agencies. Therefore, any private employer in the United States of America should be conversant with the rules and regulations of OSHA. Since OSHA is one of the administrative agencies in the “United States Department of Labor,” its working criteria are administered by the assistant secretary of labour.
OSHA Standards
OSHA seeks to create a safe and healthy workplace by making and enforcing regulations known as standards that are in the OSH Act. The standards established by OSHA are published by the “Code of Federal Regulation.” The three different types of regulations are temporary emergency, interim, and permanent. The interim standards were published just two years after the passing of the OSHA Act. Therefore, OSHA was allowed to make use of the standards that are recognized nationally in standard-setting organizations like professional engineering groups.
The temporary emergency standards last for either six months or less and are hence designed to offer protection to the workers. At the moment, OSHA is undergoing the processes required by the law to develop permanent standards. In the case of permanent standards, they are made using the same processes as the regulations made by the other federal administrative agencies. At the moment OSHA is drafting the proposal for the permanent standards, it consults with the representatives in the industries and also labors so that they can collect the scientific, engineering and medical data that is necessary for ensuring that standards adequately make a reflection of the workplace realities. The proposed standards are then printed in the Federal Register. Most of the permanent standards in the OSHA Act originate from the National Consensus Standards that were developed by private professional organizations like the “American National Standards Institute” and the “National Fire Protection Association.”
The implementation of the OSHA standards in the workplace is done through the following aspects. The employees have the right to get better information and training in layman’s terms regarding the hazards in the workplace and the ways of avoiding harm on the job as per OSHA standards. The employees should also obtain and review documentation that relates to the injuries and illness on the job site. The workers should also confidently pose complaints about the OSHA agency for proper inspection. The employees should get copies of the tests that have been done regarding the measurement of workplace hazards like chemicals, etc. There should be no discrimination regarding the inquiries/complaints relating to the OSHA.
Consequences Of Violation Of OSHA’s Standards
Tyson Food Inc. is considered by the “United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration” to have violated the four workplace safety standards in the Hitchinson manufacturing plant after one of its worker’s hands was cut off by the unprotected conveyor belt. The removal of the conveyor guards and the failure to train the workers concerning the proper layout procedures do not have an excuse (Scott & Rhonda, 2017). Therefore, Tyson Food Inc. has failed to provide safety procedures, hence demonstrating that there are poor commitments to workplace health and safety, leading to serious injuries in the company.
The employment companies that find themselves in violation of the OSHA standards are required to pay the violation fees, imprisonment, and many others. The willful violation occurs when the employer knows the OSHA standards but fails to comply with these legal requirements or even heeds them with a lack of concern for employees’ safety. The penalty for this violation is $5000 for every violation. For serious violations, where the results are workplace dangers that could cause illness or accidents, and the results are death or physical harm, the employer is subjected to a penalty of $7000 for every violation (trentcotney.com, 2018). This penalty is same as “other than serious violation” where the violation is directly correlated to the work health and safety, but it isn’t severe. The repeated violation of where the standard is violated again after the original charge. This violation is charged $70000 for every violation. Failure to adhere to the penalty before the OSHA violation may lead to a fine of $7000 per day.
Conclusion
In summary, OSHA is the agency of the United States in the Department of Labor that was established by the “William Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)” in the year 1970. Its purpose is to ensure that each working woman and man in the whole country is employed under safe and healthy working conditions. OSHA has three different types of standards: temporary emergency, interim, and permanent. The violation of these standards leads to imprisonment or even payment of a violation penalty.
Bibliography
Martin, William, & James, W. (2001). Safety and Health Essentials. OSHA Compliance for Small Businesses.
Scott, A., & Rhonda, B. (2017, January 20). OSHA News Release- Region 7. Retrieved from osha.gov: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region7/12172013
trentcotney.com. (2018, January). The Consequences Of Non-Compliance With OSHA Standards. Retrieved from trentcotney.com: http://trentcotney.com/construction/the-consequences-of-non-compliance-with-osha-standards/
