Unit 5: Assignment
Deniece Merrique
CS204: Professional Presence
12/17/2014
What is OSHA? OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA
came about when Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. This
act was intended to help both employers and employees minimize injuries, illnesses and
deaths while at job locations.
The best way to stay current on Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards
would be to constantly monitor the Department of Labor. Recently as of November 21,
2014 the newest Agency Rule List was released by the Department of Labor. The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration had 26 regulations in the pre-rule,
proposed rule and final rule stages. Monitoring this list would help keep on top of the
newest regulations as well as those coming down the pipeline.
“Of these 26 items, OSHA announced that its top regulatory priorities include:
• Efforts to control exposure to crystalline silica
• Enhancements to current infectious disease protocols in healthcare and other high risk
environments
• Issuance of a final rule modernizing its reporting system for occupational injuries and
illnesses, requiring electronic submission of injury and illness survey data, which, notably,
would be made publicly available
• Issuance of final rules regarding procedures for handling whistleblower complaints under
9 of the 22 federal statutes which include whistleblower protection provisions that OSHA
has been tasked with investigating and enforcing”
With so many rules OSHA intends to release a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the end
of the year to amend its record keeping and maintain that their mission is to make and
