Occupational Health and Safety Act OSHA of 1970

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Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) of 1970

• Cameron Boyd
• Peter Larson
• Rusty McPeak

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The Job Safety Law of 1970

• On December 29, 1970, President Richard Nixon
  signed into law the Williams-Steiger Occupational
  Safety and Health Act, which gave the Federal
  Government the authority to set and enforce
  safety and health standards for most of the
  country's workers. This act was the result of a
  hard fought legislative battle which began in
  1968 when President Lyndon Johnson unsuccessfully
  sought a similar measure. However, the roots of
  government regulation of workplace hazards date
  back to the late 19th century.

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The Job Safety Law of 1970

• First began after the Civil War when chemicals,
  dusts, dangerous machines, and a confusing jumble
  of belts, pulleys, and gears confronted
  inexperienced, often very young workers

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The Job Safety Law of 1970

• The idea of compensating injured workers from an
  insurance fund to which employers would
  contribute had gained a foothold in this country.
• Was not at first promoted as a preventive
  measure. Prince Otto von Bismarck had initiated
  the first workers' compensation program in
  Germany in 1884, and the idea soon spread
  throughout Europe.
• In the United States, a few States tried to
  establish early compensation systems. Organized
  labor successfully opposed the concept, precisely
  because it was intended as a palliative, not a
  preventive measure.
• In 1908, Congress passed, with President Theodore
  Roosevelt's support, a limited workers'
  compensation law for Federal employees.
  Encouraged by this example, several States
  appointed study commissions. However, until the
  Pittsburgh Survey, compensation was treated
  mainly as a humanitarian measure.

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The Job Safety Law of 1970 Early Federal Action

• The Federal Government was relatively inactive,
  though not dormant, on safety and health until
  the era of workers' compensation.
• In 1790, the First Congress passed an ineffective
  merchant seaman's act which gave the crew of a
  ship at sea the right to order the vessel into
  the nearest port if a majority of the seamen plus
  the first mate believed it was unseaworthy.
• In 1887, Congress created the Interstate Commerce
  Commission partly because of the large numbers of
  railroad workers killed or injured in train
  wrecks.
• In 1893, at the urging of the commission and the
  railroad unions, Congress passed the "coupler
  bill" which banned the notoriously dangerous
  link-and-pin method of coupling cars.

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The Job Safety Law of 1970 (History)

• Department of Labor formed in 1913, where
  Congress then created the Department of Labor and
  one of its main purposes was "to improve working
  conditions."
• A Senate resolution specifically called on the
  newly appointed Secretary of Labor, William B.
  Wilson, to report on industrial diseases and
  accidents.

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Labor Standards

• In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected
  Frances Perkins as Secretary of Labor and first
  woman Cabinet member.
• She brought to the Labor Department long
  experience in occupational safety and health with
  the State of New York. To help assure that
  workplaces would be "as safe as science and law
  can make them,"
• Perkins created a Bureau of Labor Standards in
  1934 as a rallying point for those interested in
  job safety and health. This was the first
  permanent Federal agency established primarily to
  promote safety and health for the entire work
  force. The Bureau helped State governments
  improve their administration of job safety and
  health laws and raise the level of their
  protective legislation.

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Johnson Bill Fails

• In January 1968, President Johnson called on
  Congress to enact a job safety and health program
  virtually identical to that developed by the
  Labor Department.
• Johnson said it was "the shame of a modern
  industrial nation" that each year more than
  14,000 workers were killed and 2.2 million
  injured on the job.
• Citing inadequate standards, lagging research,
  poor enforcement of laws, shortages of safety and
  health personnel, and a patchwork of ineffective
  Federal laws,
• Johnson argued that a comprehensive new law was
  needed.

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Safety and Health Board Proposed

• Beginning in 1965, Congress passed several laws
  protecting various groups of workers.
• The Service Contracts Act of 1965 and the Federal
  Construction Safety and Health Act of 1969
  provided missing links in the protection of
  Government contractor employees. The 1966 Metal
  and Non-metallic Mine Safety Act protected non
  coal miners. A mine explosion in 1968 causing 68
  deaths in Farmington, W.Va., spurred Congress to
  pass the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.

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Safety and Health Board Proposed

• The Nixon Administration's proposal bypassed the
  question of whether Labor or HEW should have
  control and offered instead a five-person board
  that would set and enforce job safety and health
  standards.
• The Labor Department would be limited to
  inspecting workplaces and HEW would do research.
• Nixon emphasized use of existing efforts by
  private industry and State governments.
• The main Federal concern would be with health
  research and education and training, and only
  secondarily with direct regulation

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OSHA Act Passed

• With the help of James D. Hodgson a former Navy
  Officer and secretary of labor, President Nixon
  signed the OSHA act and was then passed by
  congress on April 28th 1971.

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Section 4 Applicability of This Act

• Applies to workplaces in a State, the District of
  Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
  Virgin Islands, America Samoa, Guam, the Trust
  Territory of the Pacific Islands, Wake Island,
  Outer Continental Shelf Lands as defined in the
  Outer Continental Shelf Act, Johnston Island, and
  the Canal Zone
• Does not apply to working conditions of employees
  of Federal and State Agencies under the Atomic
  Energy Act of 1954
• Walsh-Healey Act, the Service Contract Act of
  1965, Public Law 91-54 Act of August 9, 1969,
  Public Law 85-742 Act of August 23, 1958, and the
  National Foundation of Arts and Humanities Act
  are replaced by this Act

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Section 8 Inspections, Investigations, and
Recordkeeping

• Inspections can be done during regular working
  hours and at other reasonable times, within
  reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner.
  Everything is inspected and employers, owners,
  operators, agents, or employees can be questioned
  privately
• Witnesses can be called to testify and present
  evidence. They are paid the same fees and
  mileage that are paid to witnesses in U.S.
  courts. U.S. courts can also issue orders for
  people to come and testify or give evidence and
  failing to obey these orders can lead to charges
  of contempt.
• Employers have to keep accurate records of their
  activities regarding this Act. They will have to
  also keep employees informed of their protections
  and obligations under this Act.
• .

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Section 8 Inspections, Investigations, and
Recordkeeping (cont.)

• Examples of records that should be kept
• Work-related deaths, injuries and illnesses
• Exposure to potentially toxic materials.
• Employer and one employee are allowed to
  accompany the inspector during the physical
  inspection.
• Employees believing that there is a violation of
  health or safety standards can request an
  inspection. Employees can also inform the
  secretary of any violation during inspection.

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Section 9 Citations

• If an employer is found to have a violation, the
  employer will be issued a citation. The citation
  will be in writing describing what the violation
  is and a reference to the Act, standard, rule,
  regulation, or order violated. A time will also
  be stated in which the violation is to be fixed.
• No citation can be issued after six months
  following the occurrence of the violation.

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Section 17 Penalties

• Each violation in a citation can carry a penalty
  up to 7,000 each.
• Any employer who willfully or repeatedly receive
  violations can be assessed a civil penalty of up
  to 70,000 for each violation and no less than
  5,000.
• If an employer fails to correct the violation
  within the allotted days, a penalty of up to
  7,000 can be assessed for each day over.
• If any employer has a willful violation and it
  causes death, the employer can be punished with a
  fine of up to 10,000, six months of
  imprisonment, or both. If this is not the first
  time this has happened, the employer can be fined
  up to 20,000, up to one year of imprisonment, or
  both.

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Section 17 Penalties (cont.)

• Any person who gives advance notice of an
  inspection, can be fined up to 1,000,
  imprisonment of up to six months, or both.
• Any person who gives false statements on
  documents filed or required to be maintained
  under this Act, can be fined up to 10,000, face
  up to six months in prison, or both
• Any violation of posting requirements, can
  receive a penalty of up to 7,000

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Amendments

• This Act has been amended through January 1, 2004
• On July 16, 1998, section 8 was amended when a
  subsection was added forbidding the Secretary of
  Labor from using the results of the enforcement
  activities to evaluate the employees involved in
  such enforcement or to impose quotas or goals.
• On September 29, 1998, section 3 was amended to
  include the United States Postal Service as an
  employer subject to OSHA enforcement.
• On June 12, 2002, section 20 was amended to
  expand research on the health and safety workers
  who are at risk for bioterrorist threats or
  attacks in the workplace.

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Court Decisions

• Chao v. Mallard Bay Drilling, Inc. (2002)

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State OSHA Programs

• 26 States and jurisdictions have programs
• Standards must be at least as effective as
  federal standards
• Steps
• Initial Approval for Developmental Plan
• Certification/Operational Status Agreement
• Final Approval

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Federal Jurisdiction in Virginia

• Private sector maritime (shipyard, marine
  terminals, long shoring, and gear certification)
• Mines and quarries, nuclear facilities and
  railroads
• Military facilities and other Federal Government
  offices
• Places where a federal agency has exercised
  statutory authority

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Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH)

• Mission Statement
• The mission of the Virginia Occupational Safety
  and Health (VOSH) program is to protect and
  promote the safety and health of Virginias
  workers in their workplaces

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Where Virginia is Different

• Access to employee exposure and medical
• Confined space standard telecommunications
• Overhead high voltage line safety act
• Confined space standard construction
• Excavation standard construction

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Where Virginia is Different cont.

• Fall protection (subpart R) steel constructs
• Underground construction standards
• Field sanitation agriculture
• Sanitation Standard construction

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VOSH Consultation/Partnerships

• Virginia Voluntary Protection Program
• Safety Networks
• Public Briefings and Printed Materials
• Formal Partnerships
• Virginia Compliance Alternative Partnership

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Things Managers Should Know

• Deaths and catastrophes must be reported within 8
  days.
• Inspections based on general scheduling or
  complaints.
• Inspectors can come whenever they want.
• Citations can be appealed.
• Standards available on DOLI/VOSH website.

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10 Most Cited Violations (2007)

• Scaffolding
• Fall Protection
• Hazard Communication
• Respiratory Protection
• Lockout/Tagout
• Powered Industrial Trucks
• Electrical Wiring
• Ladders
• Machine Guarding
• Electrical

• 10,188
• 6,786
• 6,658
• 4,113
• 3,978
• 3,478
• 3,192
• 2,842
• 2,749
• 2,519

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Filing a Complaint

• Complaints should be filed with VOSH if
• Belief exists that there is a violation of a
  safety or health standard
• There is a danger that threatens physical harm
• An imminent danger exists

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Protection From Retaliation

• 30 days to file a complaint to OSHA.
• 60 days to file a complaint to VOSH.
• Refusal to do a job is generally not protected by
  VOSH or OSHA.
• Neither OSHA or VOSH enforces union contracts.

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Thank You