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OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is a comprehensive federal law which provides for safe and healthful working conditions for all workers. Three agencies were formed under this Act, and one of them is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), situated within the U.S. Department of Labor, with the responsibility to promulgate safety and health standards through the rulemaking proceedings and the general duty clause of the Act. OSHA also created the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) whose task is to conduct research on methods to increase safety at the workplace.
The Act requires employers to provide their employees with a safe workplace, that is, a workplace free of dangers that may pose physical harm to employees working in the vicinity. To enforce this provision, the law directs employers to disseminate information about potential hazards to employees, and to train them in dealing with such hazards. Employers are also required to maintain a record of injuries in the workplace. An employer must display a poster that explains the worker's rights to a safe workplace in a prominent spot; failure to follow this requirement constitutes a violation of OSHA rules.
If you believe that your workplace is unsafe, you should immediately inform your supervisor, or the person designated to oversee the safety of the company, about the danger. If no action is taken by said persons, you may proceed to inform the OSHA near you. OSHA officials may conduct on-site inspections of worksites in accordance with a routine schedule of inspections, or due to a specific complaint about an unsafe working condition. OSHA has the authority to seek a search warrant in federal district court to compel employers to give them access, in order to determine any safety or health violations.
It may not be easy to prove that the company has violated any law. And, your employer might retaliate against you if you report any violation to the OSHA. You may want to talk to an attorney who can guide you in pursuing your complaint about workplace safety against your employer.