Tuberculosis in the Workplace (2001) / Chapter Skim
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3 Occupational Safety and Health Regulation in Context
3 Occupational Safety and Health Regulation in Context
Pages 43-55
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From page 43... ...
STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING WORKPLACE HAZARDS Governmental regulation of workplace hazards is one of several possible strategies for workers seeking protection from unsafe working conditions. One way of categorizing these strategies is shown in Table 3-1, which distinguishes public versus private strategies and individual versus collective options.
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From page 44... ...
Unions do negotiate with employers over issues such as hazard pay, provision of protective equipment, safety training, and reduction or elimination of workplace hazards. They have, however, cited lack of technical capacity to analyze health and safety problems and evaluate possible remedies for these problems as a barrier to the use of collective bargaining to negotiate workplace safety issues (Mendeloff, 1978~.
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From page 45... ...
Until 1970, states had the primary responsibility for regulating workplace conditions. The first state laws on worker safety date to 1837, and a few states had created inspection programs and started collecting injury and illness data before 1900 (OSHSPA, 1999~.
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From page 46... ...
Whether or not they choose to develop state plans, states may innovate in areas not covered by federal regulations. For example, some states adopted so-called worker right-to-know laws before federal regulators first adopted a hazard communication standard in 1983 that applied to those working with hazardous chemicals (OSHSPA, 1999~.
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From page 47... ...
In the 1980s, the Reagan administration trimmed federal regulation in many areas by means of executive orders and cuts in agency budgets including those of OSHA and NIOSH (Mendeloff, 1988; Robinson, 1991~. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration issued Executive Order 12866, which requires more agency analyses of the costs relative to the benefits of regulations.
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From page 48... ...
The decision, however, stated 3The most recent OSHA standard on personal respiratory protection, which was issued in 1998, does not apply to tuberculosis (29 CFR 1910.134~. The agency, which had published the proposed rule on occupational tuberculosis in 1997, instead provided a separate interim regulation (29 CFR 1910.139~.
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From page 49... ...
607 at 655~. The ruling also noted that "safe" was not the equivalent of "risk-free." In the 1997 proposed rule on tuberculosis, OSHA defines infection with M
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From page 50... ...
The term "material impairment" is not defined explicitly in the proposed rule or the statute, nor has it apparently been defined in case law. Other OSHA standards have also defined infections and subclinical conditions as material impairments.
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From page 51... ...
5In the rule on bloodborne pathogens, OSHA estimated that implementing the rule would cost employers $813 million per year and would avert 187-197 deaths per year among workers and their sexual contacts. Dividing yearly costs by yearly deaths approximates the $4 million figure cited by the appellate court.
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From page 52... ...
The other led to the 1992 standard on bloodborne pathogens. Regulation of the occupational risk of communicable disease introduces at least three additional complications for regulators that must be kept in mind in assessing the proposed rule on occupational tuberculosis.
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From page 53... ...
cover only public employees.6 If OSHA adopts a final rule on tuberculosis, states with state plans would have to adopt a comparable standard within 6 months. States with approved plans must still require employers to submit reports to OSHA as though no plan were in place, and OSHA may also inspect workplaces in these states to monitor state performance.
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From page 54... ...
About $82 million of this total was designated for grants to state plan programs, and $141 million was designated for agency enforcement activities. Another $54 million was designated for federal compliance assistance, which involves various kinds of voluntary employer and
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From page 55... ...
OSHA's compliance officers inspect work sites and counsel employers regarding compliance concerns. The reports of these compliance officers provide the basis for regional office personnel to determine whether violations exist and citations should be issued.
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