In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act or OSHA?a comprehensive law designed to reduce workplace hazards and to improve health and safety programs for workers. It broadly requires employers to provide a workplace free of physical dangers and to meet specific health and safety standards. Employers must also provide safety training to employees, inform them about hazardous chemicals, notify government administrators about serious workplace accidents and keep detailed safety records.

Although there can be heavy penalties for not complying with OSHA, such penalties are usually reserved for extreme cases in which workplace conditions are highly dangerous and the employer has ignored warnings about them. If your workplace is inspected?an unlikely event for a typical small business?OSHA will work with you to eliminate hazards.

Who Is Covered

Generally, you must comply with the Act if your business affects interstate commerce. The legal definition of interstate commerce is so broad that almost all businesses are covered. But Congress did make some very limited exceptions. OSHA won?t apply to your workplace if:

• you?re self-employed and have no employees
• your business is a farm that employs only your immediate family members, or
• you?re in a business such as mining, which is already regulated by other federal safety laws.

Safety Standards

OSHA sets a general standard for all covered businesses. As an employer, you must provide a place of employment that?s ?free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.? Recognized hazards are not clearly defined, which can make it difficult for you to know how to comply with the law. The broad language covers an almost impossibly large range of potential harm?from sharp objects that might cause cuts to radiation exposure.

But there?s more. In the Act, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration?also called OSHA?as a unit of the U.S. Department of Labor. And Congress authorized this agency to set additional workplace standards, which it has done in great profusion. The specific standards cover a wide range of workplace concerns, including:

• exposure to hazardous chemicals
• first aid and medical treatment
• noise levels
• protective gear?goggles, respirators, gloves, work shoes, ear protectors
• fire protection
• worker training, and
• workplace temperatures and ventilation.

Excerpted from the "Legal Guide for Starting and Running a Small Business" by Fred S. Steingold
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