Falling Short: The State’s Role in Workplace Safety and Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-41
Author(s):  
Michael B. Lax
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Public Health Action ◽  
Capitalist System ◽  
Safety And Health

The state plays a major role in occupational safety and health in the United States, impacting all aspects including resources, training, research, standard setting, and enforcement. Howard Waitzkin has challenged public health activists to rethink their understanding of the State and to replace the dominant pluralist view with a conception that serves as the theory for more effective public health action to improve the health of working people. This paper is a response to Waitzkin’s challenge utilizing a framework that views the State as a reflection of the relationship and power dynamics between capital and labor, within the confines of institutions, policies, and laws organized to protect and maintain the capitalist system. A historical review of safety and health since the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in the context of the capitalist state serves as the basis for suggestions as to how this might shape safety and health advocates’ strategy.

scholarly journals CONCEPT AND PECULIARITIES OF THE US OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY LEGISLATION

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Анна Хабибуллина ◽  
Anna Khabibullina
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
The Us

This article reviews topical issues of the US occupational safety legislation. The author highlights the following development stages for the legislative rules on occupation safety in the USA: 1) creation of the US occupational safety legislation in XIX century; 2) the US occupational safety legislation in XX century; 3) the US legislative rules on occupational safety adopted in XXI century. Special attention is paid to international standards on occupational safety and health, constitutional frameworks, federal and regional legislation on occupational safety. The US Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is analyzed in depth: the adoption purpose, its scope, rights and obligations of employees and employers in the occupational safety sphere, responsibility for the violation of the occupational safety standards. The author groups all US states with regard to the legislative regulation on occupational safety relations as follows: 1) states where regional laws apply to the employees of private and state organizations; 2) states where regional acts are adopted only in public sector, while the US Act of 1970 is in effect in private sector; 3) states, where there are no special regional legislative acts and the US Act of 1970 is in force. The methodological framework of the research includes comparative and legislative analysis of the occupation safety legislation, which is one of the most important methods of the juridical science that allows identifying common pattern of legal development of the state for the purpose of theoretical understanding of various legal phenomena, as well as the necessity to resolve practical tasks facing not only national systems, but also the international community. Scientific novelty of the research involves highlighting the system of the US occupational safety legislation, which, being part of a labor legislation, represents a set of legislative acts that regulate the relations on ensuring the employees’ lives and health in the process of engaging in labor activity. At the same time considering the issues on occupational safety legislation of two federal states — the Russian Federation and the United States of America, with reference to each other and in comparison, can allow taking into account and summarizing the experience of the two leading countries in the development and adoption of new regulatory acts that deal with occupational safety both inside the state — on the federal and regional levels, and on various levels of international legal regulation of labor.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore F. Schoenborn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Coal Mine ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Mine Health And Safety

It is a pleasure to be here today to speak to you about the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which is landmark legislation by any measure applied to it. The Act applies to every employer affecting commerce in the United States and its territories which was not covered by other Federal occupational safety and health laws, such as the Metal and Non-metallic Mine Act, the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. By 1973 a study is to be completed containing recommendations for combining all Federal occupational safety and health programs. Paper published with permission.

Design Recommendations for Controlling the Jam-Clearing Hazard on Recycling Industry Balers

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Mick ◽  
K. Means ◽  
J. Etherton ◽  
J. Powers ◽  
E. A. McKenzie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Hydraulic Pressure ◽  
Design Recommendations ◽  
Recycling Industry ◽  
Safety And Health

Between 1986 and 2002, there were 43 fatalities in the United States to operators of recycling industry balers. Of these fatalities, 29 involved horizontal balers that were baling paper and cardboard (Taylor, 2002). Balers often become jammed while the baling process is occurring, and the only way to remove the jam is manually. This requires an employee to place a limb of their body into the jamming area and remove the material that is causing the jam. While lockout and tagout procedures reduce the risk of hazardous energy being released, they can still be easily bypassed, ignored, or forgotten. Recent efforts to reduce machine-related injury and death involve the development of a control system for these machines that automatically detects hazardous operating conditions and responds accordingly. The system is being developed at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This system, JamAlert, automatically terminates the power to the machine when a jam is detected. JamAlert detects a jam by observing both the strain that is experienced by the shear bar of the baler and the hydraulic pressure at which the ram is operating. The strain that is experienced by the baler shear bar when a jam is initiated was calculated in this study through laboratory testing and finite element modeling. Design recommendations are presented on how best to tune the JamAlert’s operating program to most effectively control the jam-clearing hazard.

scholarly journals Regulation by Shaming: Deterrence Effects of Publicizing Violations of Workplace Safety and Health Laws

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 1866-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Improve Compliance ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Health Regulations

Publicizing firms’ socially undesirable actions may enhance firms’ incentives to avoid such actions. In 2009, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began issuing press releases about facilities that violated safety and health regulations. Using quasi-random variation arising from a cutoff rule OSHA followed, I find that publicizing a facility’s violations led other facilities to substantially improve their compliance and experience fewer occupational injuries. OSHA would need to conduct 210 additional inspections to achieve the same improvement in compliance as achieved with a single press release. Evidence suggests that employers improve compliance to avoid costly responses from workers. (JEL J28, J81, K32, L51, M54)

scholarly journals Review of NIOSH Cannabis-Related Health Hazard Evaluations and Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (7) ◽  
pp. 693-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R Couch ◽  
George Reed Grimes ◽  
Brett J Green ◽  
Douglas M Wiegand ◽  
Bradley King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Chromatography ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health Hazard ◽  
Occupational Exposures ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Hazard Evaluation ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
Safety And Health

Abstract Since 2004, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has received 10 cannabis-related health hazard evaluation (HHE) investigation requests from law enforcement agencies (n = 5), state-approved cannabis grow operations (n = 4), and a coroner’s office (n = 1). Earlier requests concerned potential illicit drug exposures (including cannabis) during law enforcement activities and criminal investigations. Most recently HHE requests have involved state-approved grow operations with potential occupational exposures during commercial cannabis production for medicinal and non-medical (recreational) use. As of 2019, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration has banned cannabis as a Schedule I substance on the federal level. However, cannabis legalization at the state level has become more common in the USA. In two completed cannabis grow operation HHE investigations (two investigations are still ongoing as of 2019), potential dermal exposures were evaluated using two distinct surface wipe sample analytical methods. The first analyzed for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) using a liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS) method with a limit of detection (LOD) of 4 nanograms (ng) per sample. A second method utilized high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection to analyze for four phytocannabinoids (Δ9-THC, Δ9-THC acid, cannabidiol, and cannabinol) with a LOD (2000 ng per sample) which, when comparing Δ9-THC limits, was orders of magnitude higher than the LC–MS–MS method. Surface wipe sampling results for both methods illustrated widespread contamination of all phytocannabinoids throughout the tested occupational environments, highlighting the need to consider THC form (Δ9-THC or Δ9-THC acid) as well as other biologically active phytocannabinoids in exposure assessments. In addition to potential cannabis-related dermal exposures, ergonomic stressors, and psychosocial issues, the studies found employees in cultivation, harvesting, and processing facilities could potentially be exposed to allergens and respiratory hazards through inhalation of organic dusts (including fungus, bacteria, and endotoxin) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione. These hazards were most evident during the decarboxylation and grinding of dried cannabis material, where elevated job-specific concentrations of VOCs and endotoxin were generated. Additionally, utilization of contemporary gene sequencing methods in NIOSH HHEs provided a more comprehensive characterization of microbial communities sourced during cannabis cultivation and processing. Internal Transcribed Spacer region sequencing revealed over 200 fungal operational taxonomic units and breathing zone air samples were predominantly composed of Botrytis cinerea, a cannabis plant pathogen. B. cinerea, commonly known as gray mold within the industry, has been previously associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. This work elucidates new occupational hazards related to cannabis production and the evolving occupational safety and health landscape of an emerging industry, provides a summary of cannabis-related HHEs, and discusses critical lessons learned from these previous HHEs.

IMPACT OF OSHA ON GEOPHYSICAL OPERATIONS

Geophysics ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-380
Author(s):  
Frank Searcy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
District Of Columbia ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Safety And Health

The Williams‐Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 has placed new responsibilities on everyone involved in geophysical operations in the United States. This law applies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and territories under the jurisdiction of the United States. The declared congressional purpose of the act is “to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.”

Managing Workplace Safety and Health

2013 ◽  
pp. 512-536
Author(s):  
Thomas Kniesner ◽  
John D. Leeth
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Economic Incentive ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Safety And Health

This entry explicates how market forces incent managers to be concerned with worker health and safety. It also notes how supplementing market forces are government actions intended to improve work-related health and safety. These include the legal system under tort laws, states’ workers’ compensation insurance Programs, research into the causes of health hazards at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the federal government’s workplace regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). An important empirical conclusion emerging is that the labor market, via the additional compensation workers require for exposure to health and safety risks, provides the largest economic incentive for managers making workplace decisions involving worker health-related well being.

scholarly journals A descriptive analysis of 2020 California Occupational Safety and Health Administration COVID-19-related complaints

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn D Thomas ◽  
Ellicott C Matthay ◽  
Kate A Duchowny ◽  
Alicia R Riley ◽  
Harmon Khela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
California Department ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Per Capita

COVID-19 mortality disproportionately affected specific occupations and industries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protects the health and safety of workers by setting and enforcing standards for working conditions. Workers may file OSHA complaints about unsafe conditions. Complaints may indicate poor workplace safety during the pandemic. We evaluated COVID-19-related complaints filed with California (Cal)/OSHA between January 1, 2020 and December 14, 2020 across seven industries. To assess whether workers in occupations with high COVID-19-related mortality were also most likely to file Cal/OSHA complaints, we compared industry-specific per-capita COVID-19 confirmed deaths from the California Department of Public Health with COVID-19-related complaints. Although 7,820 COVID-19-related complaints were deemed valid by Cal/OSHA, only 627 onsite inspections occurred and 32 citations were issued. Agricultural workers had the highest per-capita COVID-19 death rates (402 per 100,000 workers) but were least represented among workplace complaints (44 per 100,000 workers). Health Care workers had the highest complaint rates (81 per 100,000 workers) but the second lowest COVID-19 death rate (81 per 100,000 workers). Industries with the highest inspection rates also had high COVID-19 mortality. Our findings suggest complaints are not proportional to COVID-19 risk. Instead, higher complaint rates may reflect worker groups with greater empowerment, resources, or capacity to advocate for better protections. This capacity to advocate for safe workplaces may account for relatively low mortality rates in potentially high-risk occupations. Future research should examine factors determining worker complaints and complaint systems to promote participation of those with the greatest need of protection.

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