Answer:
Labor laws in the United States apply to employers, job seekers, employees, contractors, and retirees. The Department of Labor administers more than 180 federal laws. I have chosen to write about the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This law has been in force since 1970.
Although Congress passed the act in 1970 (when Richard Nixon was the president), concerns about the safety and health of workers and unhealthy working conditions surfaced as early as the 1900s. In 1912, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducted a study of industrial accidents in the iron and steel industry. The bureau also sponsored Dr. Alice Hamilton’s research on lead poisoning in the workplace. Subsequently, as the BLS conducted more studies related to health and safety in more industries, they began to keep records of workplace injuries and deaths.
Over a span of three decades, the BLS conducted nationwide surveys to obtain statistics about the severity and frequency of injuries at the workplace—temporary disabilities, permanent impairment, or injuries leading to death. In the late 1930s, the BLS was able to compute nationwide work injury data. The data helped legislators to understand the need for legislation to preserve the nation’s human resources. The legislation ensured that employers would provide safe and healthful working conditions for all their employees. This led to Congress passing the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970. The act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a federal agency tasked with the responsibility of enforcing the act’s legislation and regulations.
The act covers employers in both the public sector and private industries. It sets regulations as well as safety and health standards. OSHA conducts regular inspections and investigations to ensure that all organizations follow the regulations and standards. The legislation has greatly improved worker safety. Since 1970, workplace-related deaths have decreased by more than 65 percent, and work-related injuries and illnesses have decreased by 67 percent. According to OSHA, there were 38 deaths per day in 1970, whereas this figure dropped to 12 per day in 2012. However, much remains to be done. In 2012 alone, 4,628 workers were killed on the job.
OSHA violations occur frequently due to
- failure to protect from falls
- inadequate information and education provided to employees
- problems related to scaffolding (improper access or inadequate or absence of guard rails)
- inadequate respiratory protection
- problems related to ladders (inappropriate ladders or damaged side rails)
- A recent example of a safety violation is that by Ball Aerosol and Specialty Container.
OSHA cited Ball Aerosol and Specialty Container with 11 safety violations for taking inadequate care to guard machinery. Inadequate machine guarding exposed workers to the risk of amputation hazards. OSHA fined the company $589,000. Because the company had already received citations for the same violations in the past, OSHA placed the company on their Severe Violator Enforcement Program.