Important Information About OSHA Safety Poster

The OSHA or the Occupational Safety and Health Act came into existence to save workers from known hazards in the workplace. The aim was to create a protective workplace that follows all defined safety and health standards. The basic workers rights under OSHA include asking OSHA to inspect their work-area without being discriminated or retaliated upon, getting appropriate information and training on how to prevent harm during work, getting copies of test results that certify the safety of a workplace and getting the copies of medical records that details out work-related illnesses and injuries.

So who is covered under OSHA? OSHA covers all private sector employees and employers either through their Federal OSHA program or their OSHA-approved state plan. OSHA makes sure that their state-run program is as effective as their federal program. For state and local government workers the protection does not come from Federal OSHA, but rather they receive protection under the OSHA-approved state plan. Federal government workers need to provide a safe working condition to their employees. Though an absence of OSHA Safety posters does not result in a monetary fine, the OSHA does pay heed to all worker complaints whenever they are received. Even the United States Postal Service comes under OSHA protection.

There are very few exceptions to the OSHA act. Some are people who are self-employed, farm workers who work with their family and do not have employees who are not relatives and workplaces that are regulated by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration.

From an employer's perspective, there are a lot of responsibilities defined by OSHA. The first and foremost requires them to provide a safe work environment for their workers by addressing possible hazardous conditions. They need to inform the employees about various hazards through labels, alarms, training, chemical information pages and other methods. OSHA always expects employers to work on eliminating the problem instead of just trying to reduce it through the use of gloves, masks or other personal protective equipment. Also, places where chemical use can led to harmful fumes are expected to either switch to safer chemicals or incorporate the use of an effective ventilation system to get a supply of clean air.

Each employer is expected to notify OSHA within 8 hours if a death occurs or three or more employees hospitalized. If an employee still feels that his or her workplace is not safe they can ask OSHA for inspection.