Healthcare Workplace Safety: OSHA Standards, Regulations, and Cases

This report provides an overview of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) standards within the healthcare industry. It begins with the establishment of OSHA and its purpose in ensuring safe and healthy working conditions, including the rights of employees. The report then details the three key standards implemented by OSHA, such as basic requirements for safety equipment, machine guarding, and record-keeping of workplace incidents. A significant portion of the report focuses on a whistleblower case involving Pan Am Railways Inc., illustrating the consequences of violating OSHA regulations, specifically retaliation against an employee who reported a workplace injury. The case highlights the importance of adhering to OSHA guidelines and the legal repercussions of non-compliance. Finally, the report provides references to relevant sources, supporting the information presented.

Reading Head: HEALTHCARE 0
Healthcare
February 28
2020
OSHA Standards.

HEALTHCARE 1
Contents
OSHA.........................................................................................................................................2
OSHA Standards........................................................................................................................2
Violation of Act..........................................................................................................................3
Whistleblower Case................................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................5

HEALTHCARE 2
OSHA
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) is the act that was formed on 28th April
1971. OSHA is considered to be part of the United States Department of Labor. This act was
formed to ensure that safe and healthy working conditions can be created in an organization.
Further, it also ensures that proper education and training is given to the worker. In 1978,
under this law one program was initiated which was called the “Grant making program” and
now it has been called “The Susan Harwood Training Grant Program”. Voluntary protection
act was also initiated in 1982 under this act. This act allows an employee to apply as a
“model workplace” to achieve special designation and meeting the demands of the
organization (Webb, 2017).
The primary purpose of this act is to provide health and safety to workers. It also
helps in reducing workplace hazards and the implementation of safety and health training in
the organization. OSHA act also provides rights to employees or workers (FindLaw, 2020).
OSHA Standards
OSHA has a framework of three standards that have to implement by organizations
according to the situations. Those three standards and their implication in workplaces are as
follows:
 One set of standard suggests that a company should possess all the basic requirements
which are required by the organization for its employees and workers. The basic
standard consists of safety clothing and equipment, hygiene and many more. They
are observed in the workplace if employees are wearing proper safety clothes. For
example, workers who are working in Construction Company in the workplace they

HEALTHCARE 3
are provided with proper caps which can protect their head and proper suits which can
protect them from falling from a height (Brimar Industries, 2020).
 Another set of the standard consists of requirement to install guards on machines.
These standards suggest that proper safety measures are used for dangerous machines
so that they can prevent workers and employees from any dangerous situation. This
standard can be observed in manufacturing companies as heavy types of machinery
are been installed in these types of industries. Manufacturing industries should take
proper safety measures in types of machinery so that so workers should not cause any
harm from it (Brimar Industries, 2020).
 The further standard regulates that records should be kept by companies regarding
workplace injuries, potential hazards and illness of employees. This standard can be
observed in almost every organization as organizations started to maintain a record of
employees’ health and injuries. So that they can implement correct safety measures
that can help the organization in overcoming those circumstances and they can also
make sure that those incidents will not occur in the future (Brimar Industries, 2020).
Violation of Act
There are many companies that are involved in a violation of the act and one such
example is as follows:
Whistleblower Case
This case was released on May 10th, 2017, In this case, there was an employee who
filed a case against the company in 2011. This complaint is directed towards the employer of
Pan Am Railways Inc. The complaint of the employee is that the organization retaliate the
employee after he attempted to report his injury which was caused in the workplace. The
complaint of an employee is directly handed to the OSHA investigator. The employee also

HEALTHCARE 4
feels that safety concerns, reports, and information were handled by the company in a
discriminatory manner. And responses to that problem are also based on discrimination. After
an investigation to protect the employee from any other problem this complaint is launched in
a formal investigation.
After investigation, OSHA concluded that the company has retaliated employee when
he made an attempt to report his injury. The company is required to give $50,000 and
miscellaneous damages to employees but the company did not agree on this decision. Then
this case was appealed twice with different judges and each judge has again evaluated the
findings of OSHA. On April 21st, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals denied the further appeal.
The intact court has decided to increase the number of damages with every appeal.
The company has to face consequences and they are required to pay a sum of
$260,000 to employees as compensation. This can be considered as a reminder for other
companies to follow the rules and regulations of the act (EKU Online, 2017).

HEALTHCARE 5
References
Brimar Industries. (2020). What are OSHA safety standards? Retrieved 02 28, 2020, from
Brimar Industries: https://www.safetysign.com/help/h62/what-are-osha-standards
EKU Online. (2017). 3 Examples of OSHA Enforcing Safety Regulations 2017. Retrieved 02
28, 2020, from EKU Online: https://safetymanagement.eku.edu/blog/3-examples-of-
osha-enforcing-safety-regulations-2017/
FindLaw. (2020). Workplace Safety: OSHA and OSH Act Overview. Retrieved 02 28, 2020,
from FindLaw: https://employment.findlaw.com/workplace-safety/workplace-safety-
osha-and-osh-act-overview.html
Webb, A. (2017, 11 04). The History of OSHA. Retrieved 02 28, 2020, from MCR Safety:
https://www.mcrsafety.com/blog/the-history-of-osha