1 Employment Law Deskbook § 11.01

Summary

• [1] Occupational Safety and Health Act

  The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)1 enacted by Congress in 1970, was the first federal statute to provide standards to identify and eliminate health and safety hazards in the workplace. OSHA’s directives are aimed primarily at private sector employers that bear the brunt of the responsibility of maintaining a safe working environment. This obligation has been incorporated into the General Duty Clause2 which provides:

  Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.

  In addition to the general statement of congressional policy contained in the General Duty Clause, OSHA provides an explicit and comprehensive statement of the policy reasons underlying its passage in the preamble to the Act.3

  The administration of the Occupational ...