Introduction to

OSHA

Directorate of Training and Education

OSHA Training Institute
Lesson Overview
Purpose:
 To provide workers with introductory
information about OSHA
Topics:
1. Why is OSHA important to you?
2. What rights do you have under OSHA?
3. What responsibilities does your employer have
under OSHA?
4. What are OSHA standards?
5. How are OSHA inspections conducted?
6. Where can you go for help?

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Topic 1:
Why is OSHA Important to You?
 4,405 workers were killed on the
OSHA Makes a
job in 2013 (3.2 per 100,000 full- Difference
time equivalent workers) • Worker deaths in
America are
 An average of nearly 12 workers down–on
die every day average, from
about 38 worker
 797 Hispanic or Latino workers deaths a day in
were killed from work-related 1970 to 12 a day
in 2013.
injuries in 2013 • Worker injuries
 Nearly 3.0 million serious and illnesses are
down–from 10.9
workplace injuries and illnesses incidents per
were reported by private industry 100 workers in
1972 to 3.0 per
employers in 2012 100 in 2012.

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History of OSHA
 OSHA stands for the
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, an
agency of the U.S.
Department of Labor
 OSHA’s responsibility is to
improve worker safety and
health protection
 On December 29, 1970, President Nixon signed
the OSH Act
 This Act created OSHA, the agency, which
formally came into being on April 28, 1971

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OSHA’s Mission
 The mission of OSHA is to assure safe and
healthful working conditions for working men
and women by setting and enforcing
standards and by providing training,
outreach, education and assistance.
 Some of the things OSHA does to carry out its
mission are:
◦ Developing job safety and health standards and
enforcing them through worksite inspections
◦ Providing training programs to increase knowledge
about occupational safety and health

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Topic 2:
What Rights Do You Have Under OSHA?
 You have the right to:
◦ A safe and healthful workplace
◦ Know about hazardous chemicals
◦ Report injury to employer
◦ Complain or request hazard correction from employer
◦ Training
◦ Hazard exposure and medical records
◦ File a complaint with OSHA
◦ Participate in an OSHA inspection
◦ Be free from retaliation for exercising safety and
health rights

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Worker Rights
Handout #1:
OSHA Poster

 Have you seen this poster at your place of

work?
 Why was OSHA created?

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Your Right to…

 Worker Protection is Law: The Occupational

Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act)
 OSHA was created to provide workers the
right to a safe and healthful workplace
 It is the duty of the employers to provide
workplaces that are free of known dangers
that could harm their employees
 This law also gives workers important rights
to participate in activities to ensure their
protection from job hazards

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Your Right to…

 Employers must have a

written, complete hazard
communication program that
includes information on:
 Container labeling,
 Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), and
 Worker training. The Hazard Communication
Standard (HCS) requires chemical
 The training must include the manufacturers, distributors, or
importers to provide Safety Data
physical and health hazards of the Sheets (SDSs) (formerly known as
Material Safety Data Sheets or
chemicals and how workers can MSDSs) to communicate the
protect themselves hazards of hazardous chemical
products. As of June 1, 2015, the
HCS will require new SDSs to be
in a uniform format.

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Your Right to…

 OSHA’s Recordkeeping rule

requires most employers with
more than 10 workers to keep
a log of injuries and illnesses
 Workers have the right to
report an injury* and review
current log *It is against the
OSHA law to
 Workers also have the right to retaliate or
discriminate
view the annually posted against a worker
summary of the injuries and for reporting an
injury or illness
illnesses (OSHA 300A)
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Your Right to…

 Workers may bring up safety and health

concerns in the workplace to their employers
without fear of discharge or discrimination
 OSHA rules protect workers who raise
concerns to their employer or OSHA about
unsafe or unhealthful conditions in the
workplace

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Your Right to…

 Workers have a right to get

training from employers on a
variety of health and safety
hazards and standards that
employers must follow
 Some required training covers topics such as,
chemical hazards, equipment hazards, noise,
confined spaces, fall hazards in construction,
personal protective equipment, along with a variety
of other subjects
 Training must be in a language and vocabulary
workers can understand

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Your Right to…

 1910.1020: right to examine & copy records

 Examples of toxic substances and harmful
physical agents are:
◦ Metals and dusts, such as, lead, cadmium, and
silica
◦ Biological agents, such as bacteria, viruses, and
fungi
◦ Physical stress, such as noise, heat, cold, vibration,
repetitive motion, and ionizing and non-ionizing
radiation

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Your Right to…

 Workers may file a confidential

complaint with OSHA if they believe a Note:
Often the
violation of a safety or health best and
standard, or an imminent danger fastest
way to get
situation, exists in the workplace a hazard
 Workers may request that their name corrected
is to
not be revealed to the employer notify
 If a worker files a complaint, they your
supervisor
have the right to find out OSHA’s or
action on the complaint and request employer.

a review if an inspection is not made

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Your Right to…

 Employee representative can accompany

OSHA inspector
 Workers can talk to the inspector privately
 Workers may point out hazards, describe
injuries, illnesses or near misses that resulted
from those hazards and describe any concern
you have about a safety or health issue
 Workers can find out about inspection
results, abatement measures and may object
to dates set for violation to be corrected

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Your Right to…

 Workers have the right to be free from

retaliation for exercising safety and health
rights
 Workers have a right to seek safety and
health on the job without fear of punishment
 This right is spelled out in Section 11(c) of
the OSH Act
 Workers have 30 days to contact OSHA if they
feel they have been punished for exercising
their safety and health rights

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 Provide a workplace free from recognized hazards
and comply with OSHA standards
 Provide training required by OSHA standards
 Keep records of injuries and illnesses
 Provide medical exams when required by OSHA
standards and provide workers access to their
exposure and medical records
 Not discriminate against workers who exercise
their rights under the Act (Section 11(c))
 Post OSHA citations and hazard correction notices
 Provide and pay for most PPE

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Employer Responsibilities (cont.)
REPORTING AND RECORDING CHECKLIST
Employers must:
 Report each worker death to OSHA
 Report each work-related hospitalization,
amputation, or loss of an eye
 Maintain injury & illness records
 Inform workers how to report an injury or
illness to the employer
 Make records available to workers
 Allow OSHA access to records
 Post annual summary of injuries & illnesses

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Topic 4:
What are OSHA Standards?
OSHA standards are: Four Groups of
OSHA Standards
 Rules that describe the
methods employers General Industry*
must use to protect Construction
employees from Maritime
hazards
Agriculture
 Designed to protect
workers from a wide *General Industry is the set that applies to
the largest number of workers and
range of hazards worksites

Where there are no specific standards, employers must

comply with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act.
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OSHA Standards (cont.)

These standards also:

 Limit the amount of hazardous chemicals,
substances, or noise that workers can be
exposed to
 Require the use of certain safe work practices
and equipment
 Require employers to monitor certain hazards
and keep records of workplace injuries and
illnesses

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Most Frequently Cited OSHA Standards
OSHA’s website provides information regarding the
most frequently cited standards
Click: Frequently Cited OSHA Standards
to view current data
 “Select number of employees in
establishment,” select ALL or one of
the options listed
 “Federal or State Jurisdiction,” select
Federal or, from the dropdown
menu, a specific state
 “NAICS,” enter ALL for all Industry
groups, or enter a valid 2 to 6 digit
code for a specific Industry from the
NAICS Manual
 Shown are search results for: All
sizes of establishments, in Federal
jurisdiction, with a Construction
NAICS code of “23”
Common Most Frequently Cited Standards:
Fall Protection; Hazard Communication; Scaffolding; Respiratory
Protection; Electrical; Powered Industrial Trucks; Ladders
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 The OSH Act authorizes OSHA compliance
safety and health officers (CSHOs) to conduct
workplace inspections at reasonable times
 OSHA conducts inspections without advance
notice, except in rare circumstances (e.g.
Imminent Danger)
 In fact, anyone who tells an employer about
an OSHA inspection in advance can receive
fines and a jail term

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Different Types of OSHA Inspections
 Imminent danger
 Fatality or hospitalizations
 Worker
complaints/referrals
 Targeted inspections—
Local Emphasis Program
(LEP), National Emphasis
Program (NEP), particular
hazards or industries
 Follow-up Inspections

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VIOLATION TYPE PENALTY
WILLFUL OSHA may propose penalties of up to
A violation that the employer intentionally and knowingly $70,000 for each willful violation, with
commits or a violation that the employer commits with plain a minimum penalty of $5,000 for each
indifference to the law. willful violation.

SERIOUS
There is a mandatory penalty for
A violation where there is substantial probability that death
serious violations which may be up to
or serious physical harm could result and that the employer
$7,000.
knew, or should have known, of the hazard.

OTHER-THAN-SERIOUS
OSHA may propose a penalty of up to
A violation that has a direct relationship to safety and health,
$7,000 for each other-than-serious
but probably would not cause death or serious physical
violation.
harm.

REPEATED OSHA may propose penalties of up to

A violation that is the same or similar to a previous violation. $70,000 for each repeated violation.

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 Give an example of a reason why OSHA would
conduct an inspection at your workplace

 What are the types of OSHA violations?

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 Sources within the workplace/worksite
 Sources outside the workplace/worksite
 How to file an OSHA complaint

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 Employer or supervisor, co-workers and
union representatives
 Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for information on
chemicals
 Labels and warning signs
 Employee orientation manuals or other
training materials
 Work tasks and procedures instruction

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 OSHA website: http://www.osha.gov and
OSHA offices (you can call or write)
 Compliance Assistance Specialists in the area
offices
 National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) – OSHA’s sister agency
 OSHA Training Institute Education Centers
 Doctors, nurses, other health care providers
 Public libraries
 Other local, community-based resources

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How to Raise a Concern
Handout #7: Identifying
Safety and Health Problems
in the Workplace

 Review handout to become more aware of

workplace hazards
 Discuss if anyone has discovered safety
and/or health problems in the workplace/site

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 Download the OSHA complaint form from OSHA’s
website
 File the complaint online
◦ Workers can file a complaint
◦ A worker representative can file a complaint
 Telephone or visit local regional or area offices to
discuss your concerns
 Complete the form – be specific and include
appropriate details
 OSHA determines if an inspection is necessary
 Workers do not have to reveal their name

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 Handout #8a:
General Industry
 Each group reviews the handout and
discusses the industry-specific scenario
 Groups need to determine what information
would be important to include in their
complaint
 Have the class discuss the group’s results:
◦ What was included in the complaint?
◦ What was added to the complaint?

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 Handout #8b:
Construction
 Each group reviews the handout and
discusses the industry-specific scenario
 Groups need to determine what information
would be important to include in their
complaint
 Have the class discuss the group’s results:
◦ What was included in the complaint?
◦ What was added to the complaint?

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 Handout #8c:
Maritime Industry
 Each group reviews the handout and
discusses the industry-specific scenario
 Groups need to determine what information
would be important to include in their
complaint
 Have the class discuss the group’s results:
◦ What was included in the complaint?
◦ What was added to the complaint?

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 What are some resources inside the
workplace that will help you find information
on safety and health issues?

 What are some resources outside the

workplace that will help you find information
on safety and health issues?

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This lesson covered:
 The importance of OSHA, including the
history of safety and health regulation leading
to the creation of OSHA and OSHA’s mission;
 Worker rights under OSHA;
 Employer responsibilities;
 OSHA standards;
 OSHA inspections; and
 Safety and health resources, including how to
file a complaint.

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Thank You!