The Occupational Safety and Health Act is the primary federal law which governs occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970. Its main goal is to ensure that employers provide employees with an environment free from recognized hazards, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions.
Origin
In the mid-1960s, growing awareness of the environmental impact of many chemicals had led to a politically powerful environmental movement. Some labor leaders seized on the public's growing unease over chemicals in the environment, arguing that the effect of these compounds on worker health was even worse than the low-level exposure plants and animals received in the wild. On January 23, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson submitted a comprehensive occupational health and safety bill to Congress. Led by the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, the legislation was widely opposed by business. Many labor leaders, including the leadership of the AFL-CIO, did not fight for the legislation, claiming workers had little interest in the bill.
In passing the Act, Congress declared its intent "to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources. "
Purposes of the Act
- OSHA was given the authority both to set and enforce workplace health and safety standards. The act also created the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to review enforcement priorities, actions, and cases.
- Established the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an independent research institute in the then-Centers for Disease Control.
- Defines an employer to be any "person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include the United States or any state or political subdivision of a State. " The act applies to employers as diverse as manufacturers, construction companies, law firms, hospitals, charities, labor unions, and private schools.
- The "general duty clause" requires employers to 1) maintain conditions or adopt practices reasonably necessary and appropriate to protect workers on the job; 2) be familiar with and comply with standards applicable to their establishments; and 3) ensure that employees have and use personal protective equipment when required for safety and health.
- All employers must report to OSHA within eight hours if an employee dies from a work-related incident, or three or more employees are hospitalized as a result of a work-related incident. Additionally, all fatal on-the-job heart attacks must also be reported.
- OSHA inspectors are permited to enter, inspect, and investigate, during regular working hours, any workplace covered by the Act.
- Employers must also communicate with employees about hazards in the workplace. By regulation, OSHA requires that employers keep a record of every non-consumer chemical product used in the workplace.
- The act prohibits any employer from discharging, retaliating, or discriminating against any employee because the worker has exercised rights under the act. These rights include complaining to OSHA and seeking an OSHA inspection, participating in an OSHA inspection, and participating or testifying in any proceeding related to an OSHA inspection.
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Employers must communicate to their employees their rights under OSHA.