Impacts of OSHA'S Whistle-blower Laws in Workplace
Every
employee is entitled to a safe and conducive working place as provided
by the Statutes of land. Similarly, OSHA'S Act of 1970 provided for the
employee protection which addressed the various matters related to
workplaces including killings in the line of duty among other harms
caused by hazardous substances. The introduction of OSHA law ensured
that employers offer their subjects or rather employees an environment
that is free from deliberate dangers as well as safeguarding their
health concerns. The law moreover provides a training and informative
programs to help the workers and employers (Jung & Makowsky,
2014).OSHA laws offer for absolute rights that workers should be
accorded to when on duty. It ensures that workers gain the knowledge of
identifying the hazards involved in their working environments. OSHA
standards cover a wide range of business sectors which include
agriculture, maritime, construction and general industry which comprises
the best part of employees. The rules provide for a broad range of
hazards that employees encounter in their daily endeavors. Among the
standards include the limitation to exposure to toxic chemicals, noise
pollution, safe work equipment and practices as well as proper
documentation and monitoring of sickness and injuries that are
work-related (Wilcox & Marria, 2016).These laws have considerably
helped improve the working environment for employees in the United
States.
To
begin with, OSHA standards provide for full employee protection where
safety equipment and protective clothing are to be offered for the free.
This law has made many companies strive and minimize the hazards
involved when handling hazardous substances. Equipment such as goggles,
respirators, gloves, earplugs and proper protective gears have been
employed to help control the risk in workplaces. Employees are also
entitled to this protective at a free charge for maximum protection
within the working environment. Most of the modern companies in the US
embrace this standard where protective clothing is worn, provision of
earplugs to reduce noise in industrial setups as well as the use of
gloves in an institution such as hospitals and research organizations
where hazardous chemicals and substances are handled. According to Noe
et al's (2003), this has considerably reduced the exposure of employees
to chemicals thus a favorable environment which translates to high
productivity. Contrary to this, the traditional or rather ancient
workplace was exposed to more hazard as no laws existed to protect
employees and the employers did not sufficiently implement the few from
the federal government (Lyons & Kuron, 2014). This, therefore,
translated to high mortality rates as a result of exposure to toxic
substances as well as other physical disorders like hearing problems due
to noise pollution.
Secondly,
OSHA laws provide employees with the right to information. Employees
are entitled to reports on the hazards present in their workplace .they
are also allowed to know how to protect themselves in the occurrence of
such risks.OSHA standards require employees to incorporate different
techniques to create awareness about the hazards to their employees
(Wilcox & Marria 2016).Example of these methods includes training
the employees on the dangers and how to protect themselves whereby they
are still entitled to their wages during the training. Employers should
also ensure warning and color coding signals which are easily
interpretable put on every department and machinery which hazard risks. A
good number of organizations in the US have employed these standards
where the employees are entitled to training on hazards. For instance,
the ISO training and certification programs which ensure that employees
are equipped with sound industrial practices for quality management
(Jung & Makowsky 2014). Companies have also provided for fast aid
training practices for its employees where they are trained on how to
handle different situations that may erupt in their workplaces. The
advancement in modern technology has also ensured safety management
where the introduction of CCTV among other monitory gadgets has made it
possible to provide for real-time rescue in the event of hazards
exposure. Generous distribution of fire extinguishers and alarm switches
has also made it possible to address the issue of safety among employee
(Noe et al., 2003). Ancient workplaces were however characterized by
immerse hazard exposure due to the rigidity that was experienced by the
employers and their workers. Employees were subjected to duties without
any freedom to inquire about their safety. Teamwork was never
prioritized as it would seemingly demean the authority of the employers
towards their subjects (Lyons & Kuron, 2014). Workplaces were
therefore hostile as many work-related cases were ignored or received
little attention if any.
Thirdly,
OSHA laws provide the employees with the right to have information on
hazardous chemicals. This, therefore, requires that all the employees be
trained and equipped with relevant information on the substances they
handle. Moreover, it is mandatory that the employers give adequate
training in a manner that can be comprehended by all the employees. The
law also demands that a list of harmful chemicals be made available to
the employees (Jung & Makowsky, 2014). Employers should even make
sure that all the hazardous substances are labeled with hazard warning
signs as well as making them possible in safety data sheets which
contain relevant information for handling them, their effects, emergency
measures upon exposure and preventive measures (Wilcox & Marria,
2016). Modern working environments have ensured that hazard warning
signs are provided in all machinery, substance, and department with
risks of hazard exposure. For instance, most research laboratories and
mechanical systems in the US are fitted with hazard labels. Similarly,
manufacturing companies have ensured safety data sheets accompanying
their products and services which have promoted safety thus reducing the
mortality rates in regard to hazard exposure (Lyons & Kuron,
2014).Ancient environments, on the other hand, experienced high death
rates due to exposure to hazardous substances as well as lack of proper
information about substances leading to considerable accidents.
OSHA
laws also provide for rights for employees to be aware of their rights
in the workplace as well as the laws that govern them (Wilcox &
Marria,2016).This has been made possible by ensuring that all the OSHA
official posters on health and job safety are displayed by the employer
in strategic points where all employees can see. Most of US business
organizations are embracing digital platforms by making these laws
available on their employee portals and companies websites. Other
enterprises provide for notice boards that are strategically located for
employees to get the information without any hustle. This has
encouraged morale among employees as well as respect between them and
their counterparts thus competitive advantage (Noe et al., 2003).In
contrast, traditional workplaces were characterized by no legal
provisions for employees' safety thus subjecting them to harsh rules and
regulations which only favored the employers (Lyons & Kuron, 2014).
Last
but not least, OSHA provides for the right to access information on
illness and injury records (Wilcox & Marria, 2016).This is however
directed to employers with a total number of workers exceeding
10.Employers are therefore expected to record all sickness that is
work-related as these records are essential for analysis and evaluation
of practices that will help contain further occurrences. It also
provides light to the employees on the activities that should be
avoided. Right to exposure to information is also provided where tests
can be run to establish hazardous substances in the workplace. Modern
workplace environment offers for exposure monitoring where employees
undergo tests after a specified period to ascertain the probabilities of
exposure to hazards (Jung & Makowsky, 2014).For instance, employees
exposed to nuclear radiation in military undergo frequent check-ups.
Also, those in research and medical institution where hazard exposure is
common are entitled to free check-up and follow-ups.This has ensured
efficient and practical attention to the employee thus risk management
(Lyons & Kuron, 2014).Ancient workplaces were however not subjected
to these specifications. Therefore work-related infections and death
were immense.
In
a nutshell, the introduction of OSHA laws has improved the working
environment for workers. It has ensured that both employees and
employers co-exist which translates to high productivity. It is,
therefore, a crucial law which all companies should fully implement as
it not only creates a smooth working environment but also ensure global
expansion for profit maximization.