Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Thesis Example

For government workers, however, the rates are higher with 6.3 cases for every 100 workers.  These statistics still indicate an imperative need for improvements to be made in the workplace. This paper shall evaluate the US workplace illnesses and injuries and shall determine if OSHA has contributed to the reduced incidents in the workplace.  This paper shall use statistics and graphs to mine the pattern of incidence rates of workplace injuries and fatalities in the United States.  Through these statistics, a thorough analysis of the subject matter can hopefully be implemented. 

Historic Overview

            In the 1970s, the workplace was a dangerous place to be.  At this time, an estimated 14,000 deaths in the workplace in a year were seen; and in 1970 alone about 2.5 million workers became disabled and occupational diseases registered at 300,000 for 1970 alone. These alarming statistics prompted the United States Congress to enact the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 which then led to the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).  The act was passed for all employees in the United States as well as its colonies.  Each state was allowed to develop its plans so long as they were in accord with the provisions of the Act.  In 1971, the enforcement of the act began.  During its initial phase, some of the actions and policies of the agency were successful, others were not so successful.  Because of limited resources, the agency targeted the protection of workers in a worse-case-first approach; hence, those who were in the most dangerous and most unhealthy workplaces were targeted first. 

During its first three years, the agency imposed the implementation of the provisions of the act immediately – August 1971 – instead of using the two-year phase period which the law would have allowed. The OSHA’s support for President Nixon’s reelection campaign in 1972 damaged the agency’s reputation; however, the agency was eventually able to recover from this dilemma. The business community played an important role in the initial phase of the agency’s enactments.  There were many inconsistencies in the regulations imposed by the agency and it certainly did not help the employers and the businesses in any way when they were expected to implement hazard controls at their expense to enable best practices in the occupation safety.