OSHA Odd Facts

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which formed in 1970, exists to protect all workers in the United States from preventable hazards while on the job. Despite this enormous effort, there are some odd facts to be revealed about the organization's work and history. Some odd information to consider pertains to the types of accidents that have been recorded by OSHA, its attempt to help young workers, its recent citation of someone sitting in a chair the wrong way, and lastly its inability to be effective as an enforcement agent.

Identification

• In 1970 the Congress of the United States enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This legislation guaranteed every American worker a safe and healthful working environment. This act also allowed for the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to set and enforce standards as well as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to conduct research and investigative projects.

Freak Accidents

• Since OSHA is required to keep records of what accidents have occurred in the workplace over the past several decades, it has a long list of incidents that seem fictitious. Some of the most memorable types of accidents include: struck by a collapsing crane boom, crushed by dump truck body, caught between a backbone superstructure and a concrete wall, and falling from an excavator bucket.

Warning to Young Workers

• OSHA has a new website dedicated to young teen workers to help them be safe on the job. The opening site has a photo of a teen girl serving a tray of fast food, looking too enthusiastic to be working for minimum wage. The website provides a list of hazards young people may encounter on the job. The first hazard listed is homicide, which may come as a surprise to readers.

Energy Employees Given Citations for Sitting Incorrectly

• When an employee from an energy company injured himself from falling off of a swivel chair, he took some time off of work to recover. Because of what happened, OSHA came into the workplace, inspected the situation, and gave the company a citation for "not properly instructing employees how to sit in their chairs." The company then sent out a memo with a PowerPoint presentation to all of the employees demonstrating how to sit properly in a swivel chair.

Theories/Speculation

• One critique of OSHA can be considered a cruel joke: during the 1970s the agency had one inspector per 30,000 workers; now it's one per 60,000. The fact is that the agency essentially has no enforcement authority. Moreover, over the past decade, OSHA has issued only one new health standard to clarify the maximum safe exposure level for a chemical--and this was done under a court order.