Most of us have heard the term OSHA and know something about the legislation that created this agency, either from something we read, through word of mouth or from personal experience. The Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, also known as the OSH Act, requires all employers to train their employees to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions. Employees who do not comply with the training can be fired. Employers who ignore mandated safety measures can face stiff fines.
The OSH Act provides that employers must train their staffers with respect to the regulations applicable to the work environment. Doing so enables employees to control and eliminate hazards and other exposures to illness or injury.
Under the rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency responsible for enforcing the OSH Act, all covered employees must be properly trained regarding specific safety precautions they need to undertake in order to perform their work in a safe and healthful manner.
It is the employer's responsibility to provide training in a manner that allows the employees to distinguish between safe and unsafe acts. Employees have the right to be trained in job-specific areas so they can perform their tasks safely.
OSHA protects workers in trade categories that include construction, manufacturing and retail. No other agency so completely oversees our daily lives as we go about earning a living. It is almost impossible to work in today's society without knowing something about OSHA. What most people do not know is that OSHA is there to protect them, their working conditions and their health at every turn of their day. By requiring training and investigating the cause of accidents, OSHA has helped workers avoid repeating the same mistakes, thereby saving countless lives.
OSHA has a very wide selection of training materials available. Courses include Train the Trainer, by which OSHA experts teach safety leaders in the workplace. Those leaders, in turn, pass their knowledge on to other employees.
The OSHA website offers free e-tools for downloading. These training tools are very up-to-date. Overall, the OSHA website is one-of a-kind resource for those seeking guidance on work safety and health issues.
If you're employed in the U.S., OSHA is looking out for you. Since its inception, OSHA has been protecting us from serious hazards, job site dangers, chemical exposures and a multitude of other job and health-related situations. From job site to job site, OSHA is a shining example of what is right with today's workplace environment.