The Occupational Safety and Health Administration

The United States' Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, arrived in 1971 as part of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA is an agency of the Department of Labor, and this organization's job is to regulate working conditions for a variety of different industries in order to protect the health of employees.

If your employer violates OSHA's regulations, endangering your health or the health of others, you should talk to a labor attorney about your rights. For more information, call a Houston labor lawyer from the Ross Law Group today at 713-482-6910.

Areas of Regulation

OSHA works to protect people who work in the private sector. Additionally, it helps states develop their own safety protocol for workers. The areas that OSHA regulates include:

• Exposure limits for chemicals and dusts
• Personal protective gear
• Hazard communication
• Process safety management
• Blood-borne pathogens
• Exposure to asbestos

If you are employed in the United States, you have a protected right to a reasonably safe working environment.

OSHA's Accomplishments

Since its inception in 1971, OSHA has helped save a multitude of people from work-related injuries and deaths. The organization estimates that work-related deaths have declined by 62% and injuries have decreased by 42% since it began regulating the areas listed above.

OSHA works to inspect a wide variety of workplaces each year. If a workplace fails in meeting OSHA's standards, it can suffer serious penalties, such as fines up to $70,000. This helps discourage unsafe working conditions.

Contact a Houston Workplace Safety Attorney

Despite the possibility of fines, many workplaces choose to cut costs by not offering adequate protective gear or a safe environment for their employees. If you have been hurt in a work-related accident, you should consult a labor lawyer about your case.

Contact the Houston employment lawyers of the Ross Law Group by calling 713-482-6910 today.