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Why Was OSHA Formed?

Even as early as 1870 some proponents of safety laws for workers were lobbying their states for protection of the factory worker. This push gathered strength every time there was a grisly or mutli-casualty accident in the workplace. Over time, the movement grew to a national discussion. Several laws, weak in enforcement power, were passed, however many workers still died and were injured on the job. The OSH Act of 1970 sprang out of the need for a far-reaching enforcement agency that would specifically be established to ensure worker safety and health.

  1. Late 1800s

    • Many states passed laws aimed at protecting factory workers following the Civil War and up to the turn of the century. These were known as State Factory Laws. Though well intentioned the laws were weak in enforcement and were badly flawed. However, the process of attempting to protect the American worker had begun.

    Early 1900s

    • The early 1900s saw an increase in news media and circulation. Items and issues of national importance could be quickly reported to the general public like never before. The campaign for federal level protection of workers was proposed to the common man. News of major accidents was also reported and shocked a once unaware public. A growing sentiment of the need for increased need to protect the American worker led to the formation of the National Safety Council in 1915. It was estimated at this time that 1,200 workers out of 10,000 were seriously injured or killed in the steel industry alone. In 1913, Congress created the Department of Labor, which would become the parent of modern day OSHA.

    Mid 1900s

    • Beginning with President Roosevelt in 1933, the federal government began passing a flurry of safety acts covering worker safety. However, as technology and the economy grew after World War II, the threat to the worker also grew and more was done in the way of legislation to give the Department of Labor more enforcement power. In 1960, the Walsh-Healey Act made standards that were non-mandatory, now mandatory without seeking the council of industry or the growing labor unions. This led to distrust and contempt by the offended parties.

    1960 to 1968

    • President Lyndon B. Johnson was appalled by the statistics of death and injury in the workplace. He urged Congress to pass legislation that would reform and strengthen the federal governments enforcement of health and safety laws. In 1968, there were more than 14,000 workers killed and 2.2 million injured on the job. Johnson's attempt to pass his bill failed.

    1969 to 1970

    • With the death toll to American workers still around 14,000 for over 90 million workers in 1969, President Nixon took up the cause of creating a separate agency under the Department of Labor. After months of hearings and legislative battles, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was passed and signed into law.

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