What is OSHA?

In 1970, Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) to provide working men and women with safe and healthful working conditions. The Act established the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and authorized it to issue and enforce workplace safety and health standards. The OSH Act also created the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to research the major hazards in the workplace and to devise ways of preventing them.

The OSH Act imposes a general duty on employers to provide their employees with a workplace free from known hazards that will result or will likely result in death or serious physical harm. In addition, OSHA standards and regulations specifically address certain workplace hazards and all employers must comply with these health and safety rules as well. Over 100 million workplaces in the United States are subject to OSHA authority and inspection for compliance with its standards.

OSHA and You

By law, OSHA may regulate most nongovernmental workplaces with employees. States may operate their own state workplace safety and health programs under plans approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, and in states that have approved plans in place, most private sector workers, as well as state and local government workers in the state, are subject to the program's oversight. OSHA regulations also permit states without approved plans to develop workplace health and safety plans that cover only public sector (government) workers. In these states, OSHA retains authority to regulate and inspect private sector workplaces.

A strong, fair and effective enforcement program establishes the foundation for OSHA's efforts to protect the safety and health of the nation's working men and women. OSHA seeks to assist the majority of employers who want to do the right thing while focusing its enforcement resources on sites in more hazardous industries, especially those with high injury and illness rates. Less than 1 percent of inspections (about 467;FY 2006) came under the agency's Enhanced Enforcement Program, designed to address employers who repeatedly and willfully violate the law. At the same time, injuries and illnesses continue to decline
 
JMAC Safety Solutions LLC works with various types of industries small and large to prevent OSHA from applying heavy fines for code violations.  Let JMAC Safety Solutions find the code violations and assist with correcting the violations prior to a visit from OSHA or your insurance company. In a short period of time JMAC Safety Solutions can point you in the right direction for fire and safety code compliance.
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