The “Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)” is an agency of the United States Department of Labor that was established by the “William Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)” in 1970. The Act took effect in 1971. OSHA has many training, compliance-assistance, and health-and-safety recognition programs, which are essential to its history (Martin, William, & James, 2001). In 1972, it established the OSHA Training Institute, which aims to train 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 exempt are self-employed people, public employees, people working in the mining sector, and those in the transportation sector, since they are covered by other agencies. Therefore, any private employer in the United States of America should be conversant with OSHA’s rules and regulations. Since OSHA is one of the administrative agencies in the United States Department of Labor, its operations are administered by the Assistant Secretary of Labor.
OSHA Standards
OSHA seeks to create a safe and healthy workplace by making and enforcing regulations known as standards that are contained in the OSH Act. The standards established by OSHA are published in the Code of Federal Regulations. The three different types of regulations are temporary emergency, interim, and permanent. The interim standards were published just two years after the passage of the OSHA Act. Therefore, OSHA was allowed to make use of nationally recognized standards from standard-setting organizations such as professional engineering groups.
The temporary emergency standards last for six months or less and are therefore designed to offer protection to workers. At the moment, OSHA is undergoing the processes required by law to develop permanent standards. Permanent standards are made using the same processes as regulations made by other federal administrative agencies. When OSHA drafts a proposal for permanent standards, it consults with representatives of industries and labor so that it can collect the scientific, engineering and medical data necessary to ensure that the standards adequately reflect 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 such as the American National Standards Institute and the National Fire Protection Association.
The implementation of OSHA standards in the workplace is done through the following measures. Employees have the right to receive better information and training in layman’s terms regarding workplace hazards and ways of avoiding harm on the job, as required by OSHA standards. Employees should also obtain and review documentation that relates to injuries and illnesses at the job site. Workers should also be able to confidently file complaints with OSHA for proper inspection. Employees should receive copies of tests that have been conducted to measure workplace hazards such as chemicals. There should be no discrimination regarding inquiries or complaints relating to 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 four workplace safety standards in the Hutchinson manufacturing plant after one of its workers’ hands was cut off by an unprotected conveyor belt. The removal of the conveyor guards and the failure to train workers concerning proper layout procedures have no excuse (Scott & Rhonda, 2017). Therefore, Tyson Food Inc. failed to provide safety procedures, demonstrating poor commitment to workplace health and safety and leading to serious injuries in the company.
Employment companies that find themselves in violation of OSHA standards are required to pay violation fees and may face imprisonment and other penalties. A willful violation occurs when the employer knows the OSHA standards but fails to comply with these legal requirements or disregards them with a lack of concern for employees’ safety. The penalty for this violation is $5,000 for every violation. For serious violations, where workplace dangers could cause illness or accidents resulting in death or physical harm, the employer is subjected to a penalty of $7,000 for every violation (trentcotney.com, 2018). This penalty is the same as for an “other-than-serious violation,” where the violation is directly correlated with workplace health and safety but is not severe. A repeated violation occurs when a standard is violated again after the original charge. This violation is charged at $70,000 for every violation. Failure to address the OSHA violation may lead to a fine of $7,000 per day.
Conclusion
In summary, OSHA is an agency of the United States Department of Labor that was established by the “William Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)” in 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. Violation of these standards leads to imprisonment or payment of a violation penalty.
Bibliography
Martin, William, & James, W. (2001). Safety and Health Essentials. OSHA Compliance for Small Businesses.
trentcotney.com. (2018, January). The Consequences Of Non-Compliance With OSHA Standards. Retrieved from trentcotney.com: https://trentcotney.com/construction/the-consequences-of-non-compliance-with-osha-standards/
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