Occupational Safety
Have you ever feared for your safety at work, chances are you haven't, but this wasn't the case up until the late sixties and the Nixon administration? The Nixon administration feared for the workingman especially in the booming of the modern American industrialism. Nixon was concerned that the workingman would be pushed aside and forgot about as machines took over, but he planned to prevent all that from happening with the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The purpose of this act was to prevent the times when the workingman was looked at as a tool that could be thrown around and disregarded as in the early part of the century. In order to understand the purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the history of industry in the United States must be examined. Before 1800 there was no industry in the U.S. Many families lived and worked on farms and were self-sufficient. It was not until the Industrial Revolution when this country began to feel the growth and impact of industry. The biggest change was the transition from man power to machine power. This led to the creation of the factory, which brought along many hazards to its workers. Any injuries or deaths that occurred as result of the hazards were jus
Fifth, the Act also seeks to learn more about the field of occupational safety and health, including the psychological factors involved; as well as developing new methods, techniques and approaches for dealing with the problems of occupational safety and health. Second, the Act states that both the employer and employee have responsibilities that are separate but dependent on each other. Meaning that the employer has the responsibility to make working conditions proper and to teach the employees the correct working procedures. The employees have the responsibility to learn the right way to conduct themselves and to obey all standards set by their employer. Seventh, the Act states that training programs will be created so that the number of competent people of occupational safety and health will rise. With this rise comes the spread of occupational safety and health to the businesses themselves. This is an obvious need that will help the Administration grow and develop. An act to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women; by authorizing enforcement of the standards developed under the Act; by assisting and encouraging the States in their efforts to assure safe and healthful working conditions; by providing for research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health; and for other purposes. Fourth, the Act specifies that it is of utmost importance that the Administration, once created, must build on advances already made in the Safety and Health field. This is important because as the industry grows so will the hazards in the workplace. Keeping caught up with the problems that are created by innovation will keep problematic cases at a minimum. Contrary to what some may believe, the government intended on protecting the employer in injury or death of employee situations. There were doctrines of Common law that were the only rules of the industrial community for almost a century. The three doctrines were the Fellow Servant Rule, Contributory Negligence, and the Assumption of Risk. The Fellow Servant Rule stated that the employer was not liable for injury to employee that resulted from negligence of a fellow employee. Contributory Negligence stated that the employer was not liable if the employee was injured due to his own negligence. Lastly, the Assumption of Risk doctrine said that the employer was not liable because the employee took the job with full knowledge of the risks and hazards involved (Firenze, 11). The Administration addresses a plethora of safety and health issues in American commerce. Just about anything that seems dangerous at a job site is likely to be under OSHA regulations. For example, there are regulations for protective clothing, the protection of eyes, face and body, procedures for using power tools, and procedures for using kitchen utensils. The list goes on and on (U.S.Department of Health Education Welfare 83).
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2320
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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