EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR LAW: OSHA Reiterates Stand on Workplace Safety

February 15, 2011

Washington, D.C. – The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has restated its commitment to workplace safety in support of the government effort to create more jobs, a statement released in its website said recently.

The statement was issued as part of the agency’s official declaration before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on OSHA’s regulatory agenda and workforce protection in relation to job creation.

The statement was issued by Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels who said that the “American economy must succeed but never at the cost of the safety and health of the American workers”.

The labor official also said that OSHA’s goal is to ensure “that everyone who goes to work returns home safely”. He also said that OSHA’s regulations had made workers safer at work today than they were some years ago.

Michaels also said that OSHA‘s role is not only in preventing work injuries and illnesses but in driving technological innovation and making industries more competitive as well.

The assistant labor secretary also stressed the importance of complying with OSHA standards for employers to maintain safety in the workplace.