OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was signed into law by President Nixon on January 29, 1970 to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women. This was to be accomplished by authorizing enforcements of the standards developed under the Act, assisting and encouraging the states in their efforts to ensure safe and healthful working conditions.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was passed by Congress "to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources." Under the OSHAct, OSHA was established within the Department of Labor and was authorized to regulate health and safety conditions for all employers with few exceptions.

The purpose under the OSHAct , OSHA was created to
◦ encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to implement new or improve existing safety and health standards;
◦ provide for research in occupational safety and health and develop innovative ways of dealing with occupational safety and health problems;
◦ establish "separate but dependent responsibilities and rights" for employers and employees for the achievement of better safety and health conditions;
◦ maintain a reporting and recordkeeping system to monitor job-related injuries and illnesses;
◦ establish training programs to increase the number and competence of occupational safety and health personnel; and,
develop mandatory job safety and health standards and enforce them effectively.

OSHA has a remarkable 37-year history of protecting the safety and health of the nation’s working men and women. The agency has helped to save many thousands of lives and reduce occupational injury and illness rates by more than half during its existence. Clearly, OSHA’s success is greatly attributed to the hard work and dedication of its past and present employees. There are some OSHA employees who have worked in the Department since the beginning of the agency and possess a rich personal understanding of how the agency has transformed itself over the decades.