OSHA

Why Employee Safety and
Health are Important

Safety and accident prevention concerns
managers for certain reasons, one of which is the
staggering number of work-related accidents.
This don’t tell the whole story which reflect

the human suffering incurred by the injured
workers or their families or the economic cost
incurred by the employers - cost that average over
Php 1.15M or about $23 000 per serious
accidents.
Basic Facts About Occupational
Safety Law
Occupational Safety and Health Act
The law passed by the congress in 1970,”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.
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration(OSHA)
The agency created within the Department
of Labor to set safety and health standards for
almost all workers.
Purpose
OSHA was created within the Department of
Labor. OSHA’s basic purpose is to administer
the act and to set and enforce the safety and
health standards that apply to almost all workers.
Note: The only employers not covered by the act are self-employed
persons, farms in which only immediate members of the family
are employed, and certain workplaces that are already other
government agencies or under other statues. (for example the
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Coast Guard, etc).
OSHA’s Standards
OSHA operates under the general standard that
each employer:
shall furnish to each of his or her employees
employment and a place of employment which
are free from recognized hazards that are
causing or are likely cause death or serious
physical harm to his or her employees.
To carry out this basic mission, OSHA is
responsible for promulgating legally
enforceable standards. These are contained in
five volumes covering general industry
standards, maritime standards, construction
standards, other regulation and procedures,
and a field operational standards manual.
OSHA Recordkeeping Procedures
Under OSHA, Employers with 11 or more
employees must maintain records of
occupational injuries or illnesses. Both
occupational injuries and illnesses must be
reported.
Inspections Priorities
1. Imminent danger – Conditions which is likely
to cause death or serious physical harm
2. Catastrophes, fatalities, and accidents that
have already occurred- must be reported
within 48 hours.
3. Valid employee complaints or alleged
violations of standards.
4. Periodic special- emphasis inspections
5. Reinspections
OSHA no longer follows up every employee
complaints with an inspection. The focus now
is on high-priority problems.
When a complaint indicates an immediate
danger, OSHA conducts an investigation or
inspection within 3 working days when a
serious hazards exist.
For non-serious complaints filed in writing by a
worker or union, OSHA will respond within
20 working days.
The Inspection Itself
• Officers arrives at the workplace
• He/she displays credentials and ask to meet an
employer or representative
• The officer explains the visit purpose, scope
and standards that apply
• Authorized employee representative
accompany the officer
• Other employees will also be consulted
Each employee is protected under the act from discrimination for exercising
his/her disclosure rights.
A person filing a complaint of discrimination or retaliation will be required to
show that he or she engaged in protected activity, the employer knew about
that activity, the employer subjected him or her to an adverse action, and
the protected activity contributed to the adverse action. Adverse action is
generally defined as any action that would dissuade a reasonable employee
from engaging in protected activity. Depending upon the circumstances of
the case, "adverse action" can include:
• Firing or laying off

• Blacklisting
• Demoting
• Denying overtime or promotion
• Disciplining
• Denial of benefits
• Failure to hire or rehire
• Intimidation
• Making threats
• Reassignment affecting prospects for promotion
• Reducing pay or hours
Workers' rights under the OSH Act
• Workers are entitled to working conditions that do not pose a
risk of serious harm. To help assure a safe and healthful
workplace, OSHA also provides workers with the right to:
• Receive information and training about hazards, methods to
prevent harm, and the OSHA standards that apply to their
workplace. The training must be in a language you can
understand;
• Observe testing that is done to find hazards in the workplace
and get test results;
• Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses;
• Get copies of their medical records;
• Request OSHA to inspect their workplace; and
• Use their rights under the law free from retaliation and
discrimination.
Employer Responsibilities
• Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. Employers MUST
provide their employees with a workplace that does not have serious hazards
and follow all OSHA safety and health standards. Employers must find and
correct safety and health problems. OSHA further requires that employers have to
try to eliminate or reduce hazards first by making changes in working conditions
rather than just relying on masks, gloves, ear plugs or other types of personal
protective equipment. Switching to safer chemicals, enclosing processes to trap
harmful fumes, or using ventilation systems to clean the air are examples of
effective ways to get rid of or minimize risks.
• Employers MUST also:
• Inform employees about hazards through training, labels, alarms, color-coded
systems, chemical information sheets and other methods.
• Keep accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
• Perform tests in the workplace, such as air sampling required by some OSHA
standards.
• Provide hearing exams or other medical tests required by OSHA standards.
• Post OSHA citations, injury and illness data, and the OSHA poster in the workplace
where workers will see them.
• Notify OSHA within 8 hours of a workplace incident in which there is a death or
three or more workers go to a hospital.
• Not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for using their rights under
the law
Penalty Reductions in Small Business
Proposed penalties will be reduced by the
following percentages in considering employer
size:
• 60% penalty reduction may be applied if an
employer has 25 employees or fewer;
• 40% if the employer has 26-100 employees;
and
• 20% if the employer has 101-250 employees.
The Three Basic Causes of Accidents
• Chance Occurrences
• Unsafe Conditions
• Unsafe Acts (on the part of the employee)
Chance Occurrences
Ex. Walking past a plate glass window when
suddenly a golf ball hits it causing you an injuries
Unsafe Conditions
• Improperly guarded Equipment
• Defective equipment
• Hazardous procedures
• Unsafe storage
• Improper illumination and ventilation
What Causes Unsafe Acts
• Throwing materials
• Operating or working at unsafe speed-either too fast
or too slow
• Making safety devices inoperative by removing or
adjusting or disconnecting them
• Using unsafe procedures in loading, placing, mixing,
or combining
• Lifting improperly
• Distracting, teasing, abusing, quarrelling, and
horseplay
Accident Prevention
Accident Prevention
• Information obtained from an accident investigation is used to help
prevent future accidents from happening. Accident prevention is also
accomplished by conducting work safety inspections, reporting unsafe
conditions, providing training and performing regular "check ups" on
equipment and tools.
What Can You Do to Prevent Accidents?
• Report Any Unsafe or Potentially Hazardous Conditions to:
a. Your supervisor/boss
b. Your Environmental Health and Safety Office
c. Or, take care of it yourself, it could be as easy as closing a file
cabinet drawer so no one trips over it, keeping your work area clean,
labelling hazards in the workplace etc.
Make Sure the Equipment, Tools or Machines You Use Are:
a. In good working order
b. Have machine guards in place
c. Are certified or maintained on a regular basis
d. Used properly and safely by yourself and others
Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
a. Know what type of PPE to wear, for example, you need to know the
proper type of glove for the work you do and the materials you work with.
b. Know the proper way to wear your PPE for maximum protection.
c. Know how to take care of your PPE and perform regular inspections to
check for holes in gloves or protective clothing, tears in respirators, chemical
saturation etc. If your job requires you to wear a respirator for protection,
you need to be fit tested annually to ensure proper fit and protection.
Attend Annual Safety Training|
The Environmental Health and Safety Office provides annual safety training for:
a. Office Staff
b. Laboratory Staff
c. Clinical Staff
d. Facilities Management Staff (divisions)
In each training session, accident prevention topics are discussed.
Use Caution When Your Work Environment
Changes:
Just like you know you should use more caution when
you are driving in the rain, you should use more
caution when your work environment changes as well.
Beating deadlines, lack of sleep, being required to do
something new with little or no training etc. All these
factors can lead to an accident because of carelessness,
lack of training/knowledge or rushing to get
something done. We’ve all been there and a lot of us
have had accidents because of these factors. Next time
you find yourself in this situation, take the time to
think about what you are doing and how you can be
safe so you don’t cause an accident.

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OSHA

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Why Employee Safety and

Health are Important

This don’t tell the whole story which reflect

• Firing or laying off

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