Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to promote safe and healthful working conditions for American workers. The Act primarily meets this goal by providing for the creation and enforcement of workplace safety standards. Pursuant to the Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is tasked with creating the safety standards, which fall into four main categories:
- General,
- Maritime,
- Construction, and
- Agriculture.
Different standards apply to different industries, which are categorized by industry code. Nearly all private sector employers are required to comply with OSHA's numerous safety standards, which range from protecting employees from exposure to bloodborne pathogens, to curbing occupational noise, to ensuring that employees in hazardous jobs are provided with personal protective equipment.
Although OSHA is ultimately responsible for developing the health and safety standards that must be followed by employers, other agencies, state and local government, or other interested persons can suggest the need for new standards. New standards are developed all the time.
Once OSHA determines that a new standard is needed, several advisory committees, including the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health are called upon to make specific recommendations regarding the necessary standard.
When OSHA plans to change a standard, create a new standard, or revoke an existing standard, it publishes those plans in the Federal Register in the "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" section. The public has a specific amount of time, usually 60 days or more, within which to respond. Parties may submit written arguments and evidence in support of their opposition to OSHA's plans. OSHA may hold a public hearing if a party requests one. After the lapse of the comment period or any public hearing, OSHA will publish its final determinations in the federal register. If a new standard is adopted, OSHA will publish its full text, its effective date, and the reason for its adoption. Once an OSHA standard is adopted, all employers are required to follow it, unless a proper variance is granted.
In rare cases where OSHA determines that employees are in grave danger due to exposure to toxic substances or to new workplace hazards, it may implement a temporary emergency standard. This standard will immediately go into effect, but its publication in the federal register serves as the notice of a proposed permanent standard. That publication, therefore, triggers the standard comments period. Employers or other interested parties may challenge an emergency OSHA standard before a United States Court of Appeals. Parties who are adversely affected by a final OSHA standard may also file and appeals petition. Unless the Court of Appeals orders that the standard not be enforced, the standard will remain effective throughout the appeals process. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |