The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Essay

The Occupational Safety and Health Act purpose is to assure that individuals are working in safe environments. OSHA has been around for over 40 years and has come with many advantages as well as disadvantages. According to OSHA, “nursing homes and personal care facilities has had one the highest injury and illness rates, workers have faced numerous amounts of health hazards, and disorders compared to other work places”. These obstacles occurring in the health care work force has lead to the NYS Safe Patient Handling Act. This act consists of programs ensuring workers are better educated on how to prevent injuries, reduce disorders and improve quality of care towards patients.

Discuss in Detail the origins, responsibilities, requirements on the part of employers, etc. with reference to the Occupational Sefety and Health Administration (OSHA)

This case is followed by the laws and regulations of OSHA. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) is an organization that has been put into place to ensure the safety of employees while on their jobs. These regulations are put into place to help reduce the number of on the job injuries and deaths.

The work environment :- GITS The work environment plays a significant role in our health. Workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses are high and lead to an enormous health burden, suffering, and economic loss. Which is why, a proactive approach to health and safety at work can help employers achieve healthier employees, low absenteeism, fewer injuries, lower long-term risk, and lower payouts for disability and health care costs.  General activities :- The occupational hygienist may be involved with the assessment and control of physical, chemical, biological or environmental hazards in the workplace or community that could cause injury or disease. Physical hazards may include noise, temperature extremes, illumination extremes, ionizing

In 1970 OSHA was designed to set in place guidelines to organize and regulate practices to reduce the injuries and accidents in the work place. These guidelines are there to both protect the worker and the employer. If the health care worker follows these important guidelines and is injured, the employer is responsible. However, if the injury or accident is a result to the worker’s negligence or disrespect to the procedure and guidelines, then the worker is at fault.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has come a lengthy way to cut the death rates of firefighters in half. In 1970, they implemented a plan to help change working conditions for all Americans. OSHA was charged with the accountability of fulfilling health and safety standards, conducting inspections, issuing citations and penalties for noncompliance of regulations. OSHA created a division called National Institute Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This division, the NIOSH, conducted research on the causes and prevention of work-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths, then provide information on what new measures can be used to prevent this from occurring so often. The group was

Some of the policies and procedures enforced by OSHA include but are not limited to purchasing equipment that has been deemed safe for use by the organization, Offering hepatitis B vaccinations to all employees who have come in contact with any bodily fluids and blood, Schedule at least one employee that's certified in first aid in each shift and finally report to OSHA within 48 hours of any workplace accidents that have resulted in an employee's death or hospitalization of five or more employees.

OSHA regulates the “general industry”, therefore the industry has to comply with OSHA standards. However, OSHA does exclude agriculture, construction, and maritime businesses. OSHA also does not cover self-employed businesses, or businesses with less than 10 employees (family members don’t count).The purpose of OSHA is to: “Assure the safety and health of workers at the workplace, wherever that may be.” They enforce standards by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA also provides employees with training as well as gives them the right to requesting a inspection of their workplace environmentPresident Nixon and Congress helped create the OSHA Act of 1970 and it was later established in 1971. One who brought OSHA into

Tyson, I believe you are right. OSHA is something that gives these medical facilities the right to stay clean, the right to follow strict guidelines. I agree, without OSHA most facilities would be dirty and run

I feel that the OSHA requirements that they place on medical facilities and procedures are very important. Their goal is to protect both the patient and healthcare workers from any harm that could be inflicted on that environment. If we didn't have these requirements people could easily be harmed at the hospital. Things such as, diseases, bacteria, viruses, and many more things could be passed from physician to patient or the other way around. Also, there would be more lawsuits against medical facilities.

Working in the health care field there are many scenarios where OSHA may be violated. Prior to moving to Colorado I worked as a Radiologic Technologist in a private Orthopedic Clinic. Working in Ortho, we saw many patients who were no weight bearing. With that being said we had to get the patients over to our x-ray table in order to complete certain exams. We did this

In its first year of operation, OSHA was allowed to adopt regulations set by specific associations, for example, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, without experiencing all of the necessities of an ordinary rulemaking. OSHA is allowed to promulgate standards that recommend the strategies employers are legitimately required to follow to protect the workforce from dangers. Before OSHA can issue a standard, it must experience an exceptionally broad and protracted process that incorporates substantial open engagement, notice and comment. The agency must demonstrate that a huge hazard to staff exists and that there are practical measures employers can take to protect staff.

Inspections can also be triggered by a workplace fatality, multiple hospitalizations, worker complaints, or referrals. Enforcement plays an important part in OSHA’s efforts to reduce workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Employers are not given warning before an inspection. When an inspector finds violations OSHA may issue fines or citations. Employers may appeal the fines or citations within 15 days. Tracking and investigating workplace injuries and illnesses play an important role in preventing future injuries and illnesses. Under OSHA’s Recordkeeping regulation, certain covered employers in high hazard industries are required to prepare and maintain records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses. This information is important for employers, workers and OSHA in evaluating the safety of a workplace, understanding industry hazards, and implementing worker protections to reduce and eliminate hazards. OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This means anyone who feels the need to inform OSHA of any violations is free from retaliation. .On-site consultation services are available to employers. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing safety and health management programs. OSHA also provides compliance assistance

Occupational Safety and Health Administration also known as OSHA was established on April 28, 1971. OSHA was established to assure the safety and healthy working conditions for employees by enforcing and setting certain fundamental standards. The Labor Department was dissatisfied the limited authority to determine safety in the workplace so they push for a federal regulatory program. In 1968, Labor Department convinced President Johnson 's advisors to enter the bill that covered workplace safety. The bill took a while to pass but on Dec. 29, 1970 President Nixon signed the bill creating OSHA under the direction of the Labor Department, this position is appointed by the President.

OSHA provide the tools/guidance of working in a safe and healthy workplace and also identifies businesses that are not committed to safety which causes those business to lose millions of dollars. For instance, in 2008, 5,071 employees died from occupational incidents which resulted to a shocking 3.7 million total recordable cases of workplace injury and illness. These cost U.S. businesses more than $125 billion annually, this goes to show how important OSHA can be in companies (Friedman Associates, 2010).