Workplace Safety Laws

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at the legislation giving the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) its powers as well as the standards it has in place to protect workers from unsafe working conditions. The paper examines the legal defenses which can be mounted by employers who find themselves accused of failing in their general duty of care. The paper shows how this is an enormously complex administration and concludes that the rapid growth of the American economy means that it will continue to play an integral role in how employers and employees interact.

From the Paper:

"To start with, the legislative framework within which the OSH must operate is clearly important. Simply stated, the purpose of the OSH Act of 1970 was to ensure that the working conditions of American men and women would be safe (at least relatively so) and that a common set of safety standards would be applied universally across the breadth and width of the United States. At the same time, the Act was meant to "encourage" states in their efforts to make working conditions safer and it was also meant to serve as an impetus for greater occupational training, research and education (Occupational Safety & Health Administration, 2004). In any event, the Act "covers" work-related situations in which some "risk" might be involved (presumably psychological as well as physical) and its writ extends to workplaces in all American states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, "American Samoa", The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the "Trust Territory" of the Pacific Islands, Outer Continental Shelf Lands as defined by the Act of the same name, and the canal zone; basically, every area that is a protectorate of the U.S. and which falls under its explicit control (Occupational Safety & Health Administration, 2006a)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baker, David E. (2006). Agriculture and the Occupational Safety & Health Act. University of Missouri Extension. Retrieved September 21, 2006, from <http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/agengin/g01961.htm>
• Massachusetts Electric Company v. Thomas Reilly. (2005). Social Law Library Research Portal. Retrieved September 21, 2006, from <http://www.socialaw.com/slip.htm?cid=15493&sid=121>
• Occupational Safety & Health Act. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2006, from <http://ceprofs.tamu.edu/rhann/links/laws/osha.asp>
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration. (2005). Chapter III: Inspection documentation. U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Retrieved September 21, 2006, from <http://www.osha.gov/Firm_osha_data/100007.html>
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration. (2004). OSH Act of 1970 - Introduction. U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Retrieved September 21, 2006, from <http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=OSHACT&p_id=3355>

More papers on Workplace Safety Laws:

• Term Paper # 149757 : "Construction Safety Regulations"
• Essay # 68277 : "Employment Laws"
• Research Paper # 11566 : "Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970"

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