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Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States): Difference between revisions
Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States) (view source)
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On April 14, 1969, President Richard Nixon introduced two bills into Congress which would have also protected worker health and safety.<ref name="Senate" /> The Nixon legislation was much less prescriptive than the Johnson bill, and workplace health and safety regulation would be advisory rather than mandatory.<ref name="Ashford" /> However, [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[James G. O'Hara]] and [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Harrison A. Williams]] introduced a much stricter bill similar to the Johnson legislation of the year before.<ref name="Senate" /> | On April 14, 1969, President Richard Nixon introduced two bills into Congress which would have also protected worker health and safety.<ref name="Senate" /> The Nixon legislation was much less prescriptive than the Johnson bill, and workplace health and safety regulation would be advisory rather than mandatory.<ref name="Ashford" /> However, [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[James G. O'Hara]] and [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Harrison A. Williams]] introduced a much stricter bill similar to the Johnson legislation of the year before.<ref name="Senate" /> | ||
Companion legislation introduced in the House also imposed an all-purpose "general duty" clause on the enforcing agency as well.<ref name="Senate" /> With the stricter approach of the | Companion legislation introduced in the House also imposed an all-purpose "general duty" clause on the enforcing agency as well.<ref name="Senate" /> With the stricter approach of the Democratic bill apparently favored by a majority of both chambers,<ref name="Senate" /> and unions now strongly supporting a bill,<ref name="Leopold" /><ref name="Donnelly" /> [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] introduced a new, competing bill.<ref name="Senate" /> The compromise bill established the independent research and standard-setting board favored by Nixon, while creating a new enforcement agency. The compromise bill also gave the [[United States Department of Labor|Department of Labor]] the power to litigate on the enforcement agency's behalf (as in the Democratic bill).<ref name="Senate" /> In November 1970, both chambers acted: The House passed the Republican compromise bill, while the Senate passed the stricter Democratic bill (which now included the general duty clause).<ref name="Senate" /> | ||
A [[United States Congress Conference committee|conference committee]] considered the final bill in early December 1970. Union leaders pressured members of the conference committee to place the standard-setting function in the Department of Labor rather than an independent board. In return, unions agreed to let an independent review commission have veto power over enforcement actions.<ref name="Bitter" /> Unions also agreed to removal of a provision in the legislation which would have let the Secretary of Labor shut down plants or stop manufacturing procedures which put workers in "imminent danger" of harm.<ref name="Bitter" /> In exchange for a Republican proposal to establish an independent occupational health and safety research agency, Democrats won inclusion of the "general duty" clause and the right for union representatives to accompany a federal inspector during inspections.<ref name="Bitter" /> The conference committee bill passed both chambers on December 17, 1970, and President Nixon signed the bill on December 29, 1970.<ref name="Senate" /> According to the ''New York Times'', labor and environment activist [[Tony Mazzocchi]] was a "principal force behind the legislation".<ref>Greenhouse, Steven. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/09/us/anthony-mazzocchi-76-dies-union-officer-and-party-father.html "Anthony Mazzocchi, 76, Dies; Union Officer and Party Father"], October 9, 2002. Retrieved 22 May 2015.</ref> | A [[United States Congress Conference committee|conference committee]] considered the final bill in early December 1970. Union leaders pressured members of the conference committee to place the standard-setting function in the Department of Labor rather than an independent board. In return, unions agreed to let an independent review commission have veto power over enforcement actions.<ref name="Bitter" /> Unions also agreed to removal of a provision in the legislation which would have let the Secretary of Labor shut down plants or stop manufacturing procedures which put workers in "imminent danger" of harm.<ref name="Bitter" /> In exchange for a Republican proposal to establish an independent occupational health and safety research agency, Democrats won inclusion of the "general duty" clause and the right for union representatives to accompany a federal inspector during inspections.<ref name="Bitter" /> The conference committee bill passed both chambers on December 17, 1970, and President Nixon signed the bill on December 29, 1970.<ref name="Senate" /> According to the ''New York Times'', labor and environment activist [[Tony Mazzocchi]] was a "principal force behind the legislation".<ref>Greenhouse, Steven. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/09/us/anthony-mazzocchi-76-dies-union-officer-and-party-father.html "Anthony Mazzocchi, 76, Dies; Union Officer and Party Father"], October 9, 2002. Retrieved 22 May 2015.</ref> | ||