This article discusses the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, its origin, scope, purpose, and two major amendments. It also sheds light on the Act's enforcement and penalties for non-compliance. The Act aims to provide a safe and healthy work environment for employees and employers in the United States.
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Running head: EMPLOYMENT LAW Employment Law Name of the Student Name of the University Author note
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1EMPLOYMENT LAW Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1970 1. Origin– The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is considered to be a labor law of the United States that covers or governs federal law of safety and occupational health inside the private sector. The Congress enacted the above-mentioned act in the year 1970. The major issues for the Act to establish were to provide protection to the workers associated with the undertaking from the hazards of safety and health. It generally determined the procedures as to how the hazards of the workplace can be dealt. The recent came into force when the Work Safe Legislation Amendment Bill 2017 amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.The penalties have also been amended that had an effect on the employers. 2. Scope The Act of Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 cover all the employer, supervisor, workers, employees who are engaged with the workplace. Along with the above-mentioned individuals, it also covers suppliers, owners, constructors of the workplaces. The essential scope of this Act is to provide safety and save the workers from the hazards involved. Therefore, it majorly covers all the employees in the 50 state of Alberta. Particularly, it covers specific ones who are associated with the base of military (Kim, Park & Park, 2016). The Act of Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 also have a separate program for the employees of the federal government. As an employee, it is important to be safe at the workplace. The Act of Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 do not cover or include those individuals who are engaged with any industry or an undertaking in the state of Alberta. This Act will however not cover any non-worker.
2EMPLOYMENT LAW 3. Purpose and Overview of the Act The basic purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is to decrease the hazards present at the workplace and implement necessary and health and safety programs for both the employees and the employers. It is considered to be as the federallaw,whichmakessurethattheworkplacesofAlbertahaveasafe environment. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 consists of a few essential matters. The primaryandsignificantobjectiveofthisactistoprovideprotectiontoother individuals from risks to their safety (Connolly Jr & Crowell, 2017). Secondly, it must secure the workers engaged and the self-employed individuals from all kinds of risk arising out of the workplace activities. These are the responsibilities of the Act. The Ministry of Labor enforces the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The strategy is to protect the safety and health of the workers (Holt & Allen, 2015). In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention here that the Ministry of labor had enforced the above-mentioned act and dealt with the rules and regulations. 4. Two major amendments of Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 The first major amendment of Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is that the section of penalties for the employers has increased. This refers to a situation when a worker fails to notify the Victorian Work Cover Authority of the incident or does not succeed in preserving the site of the incident that occurred. Secondly, a new offence has been established if any individual contravenes an enforceable undertaking that have been given by the person (Lay et al., 2016). Such individuals will be penalized with either 500 units or 2500 units.
3EMPLOYMENT LAW The reason or the purpose of the amendment was to make all the workers aware of all the necessary safety rules and regulations that will protect them in the undertaking from being injured or hurt (Friend & Kohn, 2018). The Authority will also be aware of situations if any problem arises at the workplace. As per the perspective of an employee, the amendments made in Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 will be beneficial for the employees as it deals with their safety issues. It also included the Dangerous Goods Act, 1985 that will help the workers from being safe. It is important for the employees to receive assurance of their health and safety issues. The recently made amendments of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 can also act as demerits from an employer’s point of view. Due to an employee’s negligent behavior, the employer can be penalized with either 500 or 2500 units.
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4EMPLOYMENT LAW References: Coenen, P., Gilson, N., Healy, G. N., Dunstan, D. W., & Straker, L. M. (2017). A qualitative review of existing national and international occupational safety and health policies relating to occupational sedentary behaviour.Applied ergonomics,60, 320-333. Connolly Jr, W. B., & Crowell, D. R. (2017).A Practical Guide to the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Law Journal Press. Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J. P. (2018).Fundamentals of occupational safety and health. Rowman & Littlefield. Holt, A. S. J., & Allen, J. (2015).Principles of health and safety at work. Routledge. Kim, Y., Park, J., & Park, M. (2016). Creating a culture of prevention in occupational safety and health practice.Safety and health at work,7(2), 89-96. Lay, A. M., Saunders, R., Lifshen, M., Breslin, C., LaMontagne, A., Tompa, E., & Smith, P. (2016). Individual, occupational, and workplace correlates of occupational health and safety vulnerability in a sample of Canadian workers.American journal of industrial medicine,59(2), 119-128.