Health Care Regulation Research : The Occupational Health & Safety Act of 1970

The Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 is one of the main legal acts of the US that regulates and defines the workplace safety and protects health of employees from any harmful effects. The act has become the fundamental legal act that marked the shift from the exploitation of employees to the creation of the healthy and safe workplace environment. Employers used to pay little attention to needs and safety of employees because their priority was the maximization of their profits but not safety and health of employees. Therefore, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 became an important step toward the development of responsible policies from the part of employers in regard to employees to create safe and healthy workplace environment.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 is an important legal act that is worth attention and analysis because this legal act defines the workplace safety and protects employees from the impact of hazards. The main purpose of the act was to protect employees from risks and threats that they could be exposed to in their workplace environment. The act became the major step toward the enhancement of employee safety in the US in both private and public sector. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that before the introduction of the act conditions of work were extremely dangerous and there were numerous cases of employee injuries and deaths in the workplace environment. Employers, in their turn, did not care much about employees’ safety because their primary concern was their profit. The creation of safe workplace environment was costly but did not bring them any profits. This is why employers were not very enthusiastic about the introduction of safe and healthy workplace environment (Leopold, 2007). In such a situation, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 became the legal act that obliged employers to create healthy and safe workplace environment. The act affected all employers that put them on the equal ground and did not involve any cases of unfair competition. Instead, the act introduced regulations that urged employers to create workplace environment and conditions of work that minimized risks and threats to the health and safety of employees.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 enrolls all employers in the private and public sector of the US. The act defines employers as a “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” (OHSA, 1970). In such a way, employers of private and public organization had to comply with regulations of the act. The act urged them to focus on the safety of employees and made employers accountable for safety of employees in their workplace.

 One of the main points of the act is the general duty clause which obliges all employers to create safe and healthy workplace environment. The general duty clause implies that all employers have to respect existing safety standards and provide employees with equipment and conditions, which allow them to work safely and avoid any harmful effects of their workplace environment on their health.

Furthermore, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 creates the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the executive body that monitors and controls the execution of the act. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration plays an important part in the implementation of the act and regulations and control over the maintenance of health and safety workplace environment in the US.

Another important point of the act is Section 8 that defines reporting requirements. The reporting requirements in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 implies the right and opportunity for employees to report cases of the violation of their rights and dangerous conditions of work. In such a way, Section 8 of the act grants employees with the right and opportunity to report any cases, when they are exposed to hazardous materials or environment in the course of their work, while the Occupational Health and Safety Administration has to respond to such reports and undertake measures in regard to employers to urge them to create the safe workplace environment. Such reporting is important since it allows employees to protect their healthy and create the safe workplace environment, if employers fail to estimate threats properly.

Furthermore, the act prohibits discrimination, discharging or any sort of punishment of employees from the part of employers, in case of reporting from the part of employees. In such a way, the act provides employees with the legal protection from any attempts of punishment or discrimination from the part of employers.

Finally, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 permits and encourages states to adopt their own occupational health and safety plans. In such a way, the act encourages legislative initiative of states to protect employees from hazardous workplace environment and accidents which may occur in their workplace environment (Schneid, 2014). In such a way, the employee safety and health become the main priority for employers and legislators at all levels from the local to federal one.

Thus, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 became the turning point in the US employment legislation because the act laid foundation to the creation of the safe and healthy workplace environment. The act obliged employers to create safe environment to protect employees from the negative impact of their workplace environment.

References:

Leopold, L. (2007). The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor: The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi. White River Junction, Vt.: Chelsea Green Publishing

Schneid, T.D. (2014). Legal Liability: A Guide for Safety and Loss Prevention Professionals. Aspen, Colo.: Aspen Publishers

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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