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OSHA Standards

Who is responsible for establishing OSHA standards?

OSHA stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It is an agency that is working under the US Department of Labor. It was established by the Congress for the Safety and Health Act and was signed by the then President Richard Nixon to make it a law in the year 1970. OSHA serves a noble mission. They tend to assure the safety and health of men and women who are working by establishing standards that are to be followed in order to ensure their safety and health in their work place (Griffin, 2008). OSHA spreads awareness of these standards by outreach programs through which not only the employers are given an outline as how to maintain their work standard, but the employees are also given an insight of the standards so that they are aware of their rights and can demand them when necessary. In present times, the agency is working under the Assistant Secretary of Labor.

OSHA maintains a set of standards that are to be followed by all institution on which it is applied. When it comes to setting the standards, OSHA can do the task on its own initiative, as it is a complete law that can set its boundaries itself. The standards can also be set or changed if there are other parties present and who sign the petitions for change in standards or creating new standards. The other parties include the NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), local or state governments, the secretary of HHS (Health and Human Services), any organization that can be deemed important in the production of standards, representatives of labors union or the representatives of employers union or any third party that is interested in the rights of working men and women mostly comprising of NGOs.

When a case arises where OSHA finds that a standard needs to be set up to meet the needs of the employees or the petitions that are signed by the other parties require a new standard for better working conditions of the employees, then the members of the advisory committee are contacted and called for a meeting to talk about the matter at hand in depth and take recommendations and suggestions. The basic structure of the committees includes two standing committees. There might be ad hoc ...