What You Need to Know About OSHA?
Have you ever heard about OSHA before? If no, we highly recommend that you read this article especially if you are an employer or employee.
In today’s post, we will show you some of the important things that you need to know about OSHA.
What is OSHA?
Image Source: https://www.waste360.com/sites/waste360.com/files/oshafeat.png
Also known as Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA is a government agency in the United States that is responsible for the safety and protecting the health of workers. This agency was made in 1971 following its channel of the Occupational Safety & Health (1970) to guarantee healthy and safe working conditions for all workers by implementing workplace standards and laws and by giving training, assistance, outreach and education.
Congress, on the other hand, passed the OSH Act in retort yearly workplace mishaps resulted in 2.5 million disabled employees and 14,000 employee deaths per annum. Since its commencement, this agency cut the work-death rate by more than 50 percent. What’s more, it significantly lessened the overall illness and injury rates in businesses in which OSHA has focused its attention, like excavation and textiles.
What is the OSHA Coverage?
The coverage of OSHA extends to the majority but not all private sector proprietors as well as their employees. Moreover, it covers various industry workplaces from agriculture and maritime to construction.
Furthermore, this agency covers some employers in the public sector together with their employees, typically through state OSHA agencies regulating public sector proprietors. But keep in mind that OSHA doesn’t cover self-employed and immediate members of a farm family who doesn’t employ nonfamily employees.
Penalties the OSHA Can Charge on Employers
OSHA also has the power to impose penalties on an employer for safety infractions. Typically, these penalties include the following:
- Serious violations: $12,934
- Willful of repeated violations: $129,336
- Posting violations: $12,934
- Other than serious violation: $12,934
- Failure to abate: $12,934 per day beyond the decline date
OSHA Inspections
The OSHA will conduct a scheduled or unannounced inspection of a business, so you need to be ready at all times and make sure to follow all their regulations. The inspection could be a result of employee complaints or routine inspections of businesses in the area.
During the inspection, you can accompany the OSHA inspectors or have a representative be present. An inspection is prioritized with the most dangerous workplaces, top hazards include worker complaints, reports of severe illnesses and injuries, and pending danger scenarios.
Keep in mind that, besides the area of complaints, inspectors have the authority to inspect all parts of your business for possible destructions. Make sure to document as many photos as you can of the complaint areas. Thus, you can document them and most importantly document all the improvements you are going to make.
There’s a process for a complaint as well as for showing the works done in order to make improvements needed by the inspectors. You should also include details about the inspection in the employee training programs.
Conclusion
Perhaps we did not answer all the questions that you have in your mind about OSHA, but hopefully, we answered some of them.
