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Osha Rules and Regulations

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Employment Law and Policies Research Paper:
OSHA Regulations in Construction
Brittany Howlett
June 19, 2011
Ottawa University
Employment Law and Policies
Monahan

Brief Background of OSHA Regulations
OSHA refers to the Occupational Safety and Health Act enacted by the United States Congress in 1970. It was signed into law by Richard Nixon, the then United States President in December of that same year. It is a federal law that oversees the adherence to and enforcement of health and safety within the workplace in both the federal government and the privates sector.
Its main objective is to make sure that employees are afforded a working environment that is free of hazards such as toxic chemical substances, noise pollution, dangers from …show more content…

The uptake of OSHA rules and regulations by an firm especially on within the construction industry would lead to reduced losses in form of compensation for workers due to accidents, law suits and costly settlements, cost of replacing machinery, the inconvenience of federal investigation and lost man hours which translates to forgone profits. Thus companies would rather comply with OSHA rules and regulations to offset threats on their possible future incomes.
For instance, within the construction industry where falling debris, fires and heavy equipment are the norm adhering to OSHA regulations of providing hard hats, fire extinguishers and proper training would save the company costs of providing compensation to injured workers and loss of equipment or heavy machinery.

* Lower Accident Rates:
OSHA rules and regulations offer guidance and policy measures which companies can take up as part of their employee corporate policies. These rules and regulations provide expert assistance to companies as to how they can reduce the rates of accidents within their company by simply instituting managerial measures that impact factory workers or construction workers on site. These may be as simply as putting up signposts, providing necessary equipments and putting up regulatory operational procedures in line with OSHA rules that protect the lives of workers.
Collaborations through seminars and conferences between OSHA and corporate bodies also help to iron out the

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