University of Wisconsin-River Falls
PA-15: Workplace Health and Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.

Under the OSH Act, employers have the responsibility to provide a
safe workplace.
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Employers must:
• Follow all relevant OSHA safety and health standards.
• Find and correct safety and health hazards.
• Inform employees about chemical hazards through training, labels, alarms, color-coded systems, chemical information sheets, and other methods.
• As of January 1, 2015, notify OSHA within 8 hours of a workplace fatality or within 24 hours of any work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye (1-800-321-OSHA [6742]); www.osha.gov/report_online).
• Provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to workers.*
• Keep accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
• Post OSHA citations, injury and illness summary data, and the OSHA Job Safety and Health - It’s The Law poster in the workplace where workers will see them.
• Not retaliate against any worker for using their rights under the law.

Employees have the right to:
• Working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm.
• Receive information and training (in a language workers can understand) about chemical and other hazards, methods to prevent harm, and OSHA standards that apply to their workplace.
• Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
• Get copies of test results done to find and measure hazards in the workplace.
• File a complaint asking OSHA to inspect their workplace if they believe there is a serious hazard or that their employer is not following OSHA rules. When requested, OSHA will keep all identities confidential.
• Use their rights under the law without retaliation. If an employee is fired, demoted, transferred or retaliated against in any way for using their rights
under the law, they can file a complaint with OSHA. This complaint must be filed within 30 days of the alleged retaliation.

OSHA STANDARDS
OSHA standards are rules that describe the methods employers are legally required to follow to protect their workers from hazards. Before OSHA can issue a standard, it must go through a very extensive and lengthy process that includes
substantial public engagement, notice and comment. The agency must show that a significant risk to workers exists and that there are feasible measures employers can take to protect their workers.
Construction, General Industry, Maritime, and Agriculture standards protect workers from a wide range of serious hazards. These standards limit the amount of hazardous chemicals workers can be exposed to, require the use of certain safe
practices and equipment, and require employers to monitor certain workplace hazards.
Examples of OSHA standards include requirements to provide fall protection, prevent trenching cave-ins, prevent exposure to some infectious diseases, ensure the safety of workers who enter confined spaces, prevent exposure to such
harmful substances as asbestos and lead, put guards on machines, provide respirators or other safety equipment, and provide training for certain
dangerous jobs.
Employers must also comply with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act. This clause requires employers to keep their workplaces free of serious recognized hazards and is generally cited when no specific OSHA standard applies to the hazard.

INSPECTIONS
Inspections are initiated without advance notice, conducted using on-site or telephone and facsimile investigations, performed by highly trained compliance officers, and based on the following priorities:
• Imminent danger.
• Catastrophes – fatalities or hospitalizations.
• Worker complaints and referrals.
• Targeted inspections – particular hazards, high injury rates.
• Follow-up inspections.
On-site inspections can be triggered by a complaint from a current worker or their representative if they believe there is a serious hazard or that their employer is not following OSHA standards or rules. Often the best and fastest way to get a
hazard corrected is to notify your supervisor or employer.
When an inspector finds violations of OSHA standards or serious hazards, OSHA may issue citations and fines. A citation includes methods an employer may use to fix a problem and the date by when the corrective actions must be completed.
Employers have the right to contest any part of the citation, including whether a violation actually exists. Workers only have the right to challenge the deadline for when a problem must be resolved. Appeals of citations are heard by the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Employees who are injured are required to report the incident to their supervisor and fill out paperwork documenting the injury. The Human Resources Department processes all paperwork and maintains records. For workers who are not employed by the institution but work on campus, they are required to report per their organization's requirements. For the purposes of completing this section of the report, those organizations report data to UWRF on number of workplace injuries.