Safety in the Workplace

Essay by Anonymous UserCollege, UndergraduateA+, April 2007

download word file, 2 pages 3.7

Introduction The focus of this paper is safety in the workplace. Accidents cost time and money. A serious accident can financially ruin a business. Liabilities for penalties have potential to destroy a business's cash flow (Entrepeneur.com, 2006). The Department of Labor (DOL) has organized three agencies to handle laws designed to secure the safety and health of workers in America. According to Entrepreneur.com (Entrepreneur.com, 2006) "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) penalty for willful violations of safety rules that could result in death or serious physical harm is $5,000 to $70,000." Costs this high illustrate the importance of safety is to everyone involved. Developments in working conditions are important assessment of economic progress.

Main Issue The three government departments assigned to aid workplace safety are Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Mine and Safety Health Administration (MSHA), and Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division (FLSA). Businesses have an obligation to comply with OSHA no matter what their size.

There is an emphasis on safety in all situations for which there are published (DOL.gov, 2006). The second department, Mine Safety and Health Administration is accountable for the workers employed in the nation's mines (DOL.gov). MSHA's main focus of safety involves the mining and mineral processing operations in the United States (DOL.gov). Finally, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is focused on the rights of young workers pertaining to the protection of youth in America and is administered and enforced by DOL's Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division. The Department of Labor reports, "The FLSA contains minimum age restrictions for employment, restrictions on the times of day youth may work, and the jobs they may perform." The practice of a safety program in the workplace should enable the business to create systems of communication to carry out the...