By Scott Conboy 2 comments

OSHA: Worker Rights and Protections

In the year 2004, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 were amended to protect the workers from serious harm at work and accidents that can lead to death. The implementation of this law has created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA), it provides sets and enforces a protective workplace safety and health standards. It provides adequate information, training, and assistance to employers and workers.

With the rights and responsibilities of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA), the employers must:

  • Abide all the standards implicated by the Occupational Safety and Health standards.
  • Seek and rectify the safety and health hazards.
  • Provide information regarding the hazards at work through labels, alarms, color-coded systems, training and other possible methods.
  • Workplace accidents and fatalities should be reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration within 8 to 24 hours.
  • Provide the required personal protective equipment at no cost to their employees.
  • Secure all the accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
  • Post the summarized data of injury and illness and Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the employees to see.
  • Not counterattack against any worker for using their rights under the implemented law.

With the rights and responsibilities of the employers stipulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the employees have the right to:

  • Work under the conditions that do not pose a risk of their life through serious harm.
  • Undergo trainings and adequate information regarding the work hazards, preventive methods, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards to be applied at their workplace.
  • Review the records of work-related illnesses and injuries.
  • Secure copies of the test results done to seek and measure the hazards in the workplace.
  • File a request from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to inspect their workplace if they observed any serious hazard or there are rules not being followed. When the request is accepted, all the identities will be kept confidential by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
  • Use their rights under the implemented law without counterattacks. A complaint can be filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) if an employee has been fired, transferred, demoted, or counterattacked for using their rights. The complaint must be filed within 30 days of the alleged retaliation.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards are the set of rules and regulations that imposes the methods the employers that are legally required to prevent hazards on the employees. Prior the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can issue the employers a standard; they have to undergo a lengthy and extensive process.

A significant risks and hazards should be determined by the agency, and there should be feasible measures for the employers to protect their employees. The standards should protect the workers through limiting the amount of hazards they are exposed to, requiring the use of practices and equipments safe for the workers, and monitoring the employers with the certain workplace hazards.

Employers must comply with the stipulated rules and regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to free possible accidents and injuries. More so, there are inspections conducted without an advance notice, it might be conducted through phone calls, or on-site and facsimile investigations, which are executed by a highly trained compliance officers. The priorities of the inspections are:

  1. Imminent danger
  2. Catastrophes
  3. Complaints and referrals of the workers
  4. Targeted inspections
  5. Follow-up inspections

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a small agency that is partnered with the states. There 2,100 inspectors that are responsible for the safety and health of over 130 million workers around the nation, who are employed at more than 8 million workplaces, with a ratio of one inspector for every 59,000 workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration have determined the most frequently violated standards:

  1. Construction industry: Fall protection
  2. General industry: Hazard communication standard
  3. Construction industry: General requirements of scaffolding
  4. General industry: Respiratory infection
  5. General industry: Control of hazardous energy
  6. Construction industry: Ladder
  7. General industry: Powered industrial tracks
  8. General requirements: Machinery and machine guarding
  9. Training requirements: Fall protection
  10. General industry: Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipments

With the implementation of the standards of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, there is a dramatic change in the rates of death, injuries and illnesses in the workplace. In 1970, the rate of deaths has decreased from 38 deaths a day to 14 days a day. More so, the work injuries and illnesses rated 10.9 incidents per 100 workers and have declined to 2.9 injuries and illnesses per 100 workers. Thus, to supervise the control and safety system, personal protective equipment (PPE) is needed to reduce the risks.

If there are instances that the employer has refused, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can sue the employer to court. The Congress has extended the benefits of a whistleblower. The complaints of the worker should be reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within the number of days indicated as prescribed by the law.

Worker, Environmental, and Nuclear Safety Laws

  1. Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA): 90 days
  2. Clean Air Act (CAA): 30 days
  3. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA): 30 days
  4. Energy Reorganization Act (ERA): 180 days
  5. Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA): 30 days
  6. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: 30 days
  7. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): 30 days
  8. Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA): 30 days
  9. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): 30 days

Transportation Industry Laws

  1. Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA): 180 days
  2. International Safe Container Act (ISCA): 60 days
  3. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21): 180 days
  4. National Transit Systems Security Act (NTSSA): 180 days
  5. Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (PSIA): 180 days
  6. Seaman’s Protection Act (SPA): 180 days
  7. Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA): 180 days
  8. Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21): 90 days

Fraud Prevention Laws

  1. Affordable Care Act (ACA): 180 days
  2. Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA): 180 days
  3. Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX): 180 days

Consumer Safety Laws

  1. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA): 180 days
  2. FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA): 180 days

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard that sets and composes a body of representatives of standard organizations. It is an independent, non-government organization in which the members of which are the standards organization of the 162 member countries.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) aims to create a worldwide awareness of the dimensions and consequences of work-related accidents, injuries, and diseases. As what the International Labor Organization (ILO) upholds, decent work is safe work.

The objective of these standards is to protect the health and safety of the employees, contractors of an employer, and other persons at or near the workplace from the hazards that are arising from the plant and systems of work associated with the plant through ensuring the hazards, eliminating the risks to health and safety and requiring the provision of relevant education and training.

There are legal duties and obligations that entail the employers to take full reasonable care of the safety of their employees. Occupational health promotes and maintains the highest degree of the physical, mental, and social well-being of workers in all occupations. It protects the workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors that are adverse to health.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a multidisciplinary field that concerns the safety, health, and welfare of the people at work. The occupational health and safety programs include fostering a safe and healthy work environment. It aims to protect the co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and other people who might be affected by the workplace environment.

Accidents or unintentional injuries are an undesirable and unplanned occurrence that could have been prevented under some circumstances. It is an effort to reduce or prevent the severity of body injuries that can be caused by external mechanisms.

A successful workplace safety is built with the foundation that one should be encouraged by the employees to recognize unsafe behaviors and instances to improve the workplace safety while making a well-informed decisions. Managers and supervisors should be aware of the reasons for providing a personal protective equipment (PPE); they should be knowledgeable of the proper usage, and the level of protection of the personal protective equipment (PPE) provides.

It is essential to recognize that safety is relative; it is difficult and expensive to eliminate all the possible risk. Unfortunately, there are situations that cannot be prevented with safety system. Thus, the employers should assess the risks that are associated to their employee’s task.

You might wonder what personal protective equipment is—Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) refers to the protective clothing, helmets, goggles, and other garments or equipment designed to protect the body of the person from injury or infection. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is worn for job-related occupational health and safety purposes.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) did not just come out of the blue to protect our fellow professionals. It is based and supported on legal duties and obligations. Now, what are the legal duties and obligations of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)?

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 is a set of regulations that were imposed under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act1974. The regulations place a duty on every employer to ensure that a suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) is being provided to the employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 duly states that the employers are not allowed to charge for any personal protective equipment (PPE) that is used for work. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be provided by a PCBU. PCBU are persons conducting a business or undertaking, they must consult with their workers in selecting the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE); they must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that the personal protective equipment (PPE) is used or worn by the worker; and they must provide the worker with information, training, and instructions in the proper use and wearing of the personal protective equipment (PPE) and how it is stored and duly maintained.

The legal requirements for businesses in relation to personal protective equipment (PPE) are set out in the regulations 36, 44, and 45 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations. Workers have legal duties and obligations in relation to personal protective equipment under the regulation 46 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations. Moreover, those who are not workers still have an obligation under the regulation 47 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is defined in the regulations as ‘all equipment which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work which protects them against one or more risks to their health and safety'. Thus, the legal duties and obligations define the general duties of the employer, employee, contractors, suppliers of goods and substances for use at work, and the people in general.

As the hands are one of the greatest assets in our body, it should be protected. Hand injuries can go further from minor cuts and irritations to amputations. Thus, a law has been regulated and implemented that employers shall select and require employees to use the appropriate hand protection when the hands of their employees are exposed to hazards. The meant hazards are absorption of harmful substances, severe lacerations and cuts, burns from extreme heat or chemical contact.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is used in a workplace should be selected to minimize the risk to work health and safety; it should be suitable for the nature of the work and any hazard that is associated with the work; and it should be a suitable size and fit and reasonably comfortable for the person who wears it.

When Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is properly selected and used, it can be effective in the elimination or minimization of individual exposures to hazardous materials and physical hazards being encountered in a different work environment.

Hazardous materials are not limited to chemical and biological materials or agents that pose a health or physical hazard and unsealed radioactive materials. Physical hazards are not limited to substances, equipment, or activities that can expose the person to a potential threat to their physical safety. Examples of a physical hazard include: extreme pressures, extreme temperatures, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, noise, and flying hazards of machining equipment.

Physical hazards affect many people in the workplace. In the hierarchy of hazard controls, elimination is the topmost priority, followed by substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, the last resort of the hierarchy of hazard controls is the personal protective equipment (PPE).

Any form of personal protective equipment (PPE) that can act as a barrier between the skin and the agent can be considered as skin protection. Gloves are an essential item for skin protection.

Gloves is an item of clothing that covers the whole hand, it has a separate sheath or opening for the fingers and thumb. However, there are fingerless gloves, these gloves has an opening and no covering sheath for the fingers.

This garment protects and brings comfort to the hands against cold or heat, damage through friction, abrasion or chemicals, and contamination of disease. This item of clothing is made with cloth, knitted or felted wool, leather, latex, rubber, neoprene, silk, and metal.

A safety work glove is a key component for occupational health safety. Occupational health promotes and maintains the highest degree of the physical, mental, and social well-being of workers in all occupations. It protects the workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors that are adverse to health.

Hand protection gloves and sleeves can maximize safety and ensures that you are complying the International safety laws. Safety gloves exist to fulfill the implementation of the Personal Protective Equipment requirements.

It is the employer’s duty and responsibility to determine and assess all of the possible engineering and work practice control to prevent hazardous situations and provide the employees additional protection (personal protective equipment) against the potential hazards that cannot be completely eliminated through other methods.

There are types of safety gloves that are manufactured today to protect the hands and arms. The nature of the hazard and the operation involved is a great factor in selecting the safety gloves that worker should use, it makes choosing the right pair of gloves challenging. It is essential to choose the right one because the gloves specifically designed for one function may not protect against a different function. The following are the factors that can affect the influence of the selection of the safety gloves:

  • Types of chemicals that will be handled
  • Nature of contact
  • Duration of contact
  • Area that requires protection
  • Grip requirements
  • Thermal protection
  • Size and comfort
  • Abrasion and resistance requirements

The safety gloves are designed from a wide variety of requirements, there are gloves that are made of:

  • Leather, canvas or metal mesh;
  • Fabric and coated fabric;
  • Chemical- and liquid- resistant gloves; and
  • Insulating rubber gloves

Most safety gloves have a complex design; it is used in situations that can cause a serious injury, or even death. A wide range of personal protective equipment (PPE) gloves are available, below are the types of safety gloves and their functionality.

Aircrew gloves

- This type of safety gloves is designed to aid the hands of a flight crew warm, moreover, it is flame resistant, water resistant, and has an enhanced grip for instrument control.

Aluminized gloves

- This type of safety gloves is recommended for welding, furnace, and foundry work, since this type of safety gloves provide an insulation and reflective protection for the workers.

Anti-vibration gloves

- This type of safety gloves is designed to protect a worker's hands when using oscillating tools, it is also puncture-resistant.

Antistatic gloves

- This type of safety gloves suppress dust-collecting electrostatic charges when handling delicate components. These dissipate electric static through the materials of construction.

Chainmail gloves

- This type of safety gloves offer unrivaled protection to puncture and slashing. These are used in food preparation, wood working, and other high-risk puncture situations.

Chemical or Liquid-resistant gloves

- This type of safety gloves have a variation that helps the hand protect against specific chemicals that can harm our health.

Butyl-rubber gloves

- is to protect the skin from nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and peroxide.

Natural latex or rubber gloves

- is to protect the skin from water solutions or acids, alkalis, salts, and ketones.

Neoprene gloves

- is to protect the skin from hydraulic fluids, gasoline, alcohols, and organic acids.

Nitrile rubber gloves

- is to protect the skin from chlorinated solvents.

Cotton and fabric gloves

- This type of safety gloves can keep the worker’s hands clean and protected against abrasions, however, it may not be strong enough to handle work with rough and sharp materials.

Coated fabric gloves

- This type of safety gloves provides an utmost protection against moderate concentrated chemicals. It can be used in the laboratory work since it can provide an enough strong protection against the specific chemical being handled.

Electrical gloves

- This type of safety gloves is required when working in any kind of voltage application and can prevent electrical shock, arc flash, and arc blast. These items have been voltage rated and also offers some abrasion resistance.

Firefighter gloves

- This type of safety gloves is a high strength, flame resistant, thermally efficient, waterproof gloves meant for firefighting operations. Structure fire and wildfire variants differ in construction, with structural designs needing additional puncture resistance and dexterity. Chemical firefighting will require proximity gloves, a type of glove capable of withstanding higher temperatures.

Kevlar gloves

- This type of safety gloves have a wide variety of industrial applications. It protects the hands from cuts and abrasions, moreover, it can provide protection against extreme heat and cold temperatures.

Leather gloves

- This type of safety gloves is used for welding, since the leather can resist the sparks and moderate heat. Moreover, the risk of cuts and abrasions is minimized by the leather gloves.

Rubber, plastic, or synthetic gloves

- This type of safety gloves is usually used by workers who cleans or works with oils, solvents, and other chemicals.

Tactical gloves

- This type of safety gloves provide police, military, and security personnel with enhanced grip, puncture resistance, contamination control, and digit articulation when in confrontational or hostile operations. A sleek, covert design allows the wearer control of weapons and tools. Most of the designs of tactical gloves are fingerless.

Deciding on which work glove for you is extremely essential, since different gloves serve a purpose in different ways—whether you need protection from rough services, hot surfaces, sharp surfaces, punctures, and chemicals.

Safety gloves should be inspected before it is used to ensure that the gloves are not torn, punctured or ineffective. Cuts and tears will be detected with visual inspection, pinhole leaks will be determined through filling the loves with water and tightly rolling the cough towards the finger. Gloves that are discolored or stiff can also indicate ineffectiveness due to excessive use or degradation from chemical exposure.

All gloves that are impaired from their ability to protect should be discarded and replaced. Reusing chemical resistant gloves should be carefully evaluated by the user, this is to take consideration of the absorptive qualities of the gloves. When the users decide to reuse, duration of exposure, storage and temperature should be evaluated.

To ensure that you have chosen the most appropriate gloves for the work and the occupational environment, it is important to:

  1. Identify the hazards and evaluate the need for protection. The kind of hazards can affect the decision to use other protective clothing in addition to gloves.
  2. Identify the required manual dexterity. The thicker the gloves, the greater resistance it provides against the chemical or mechanical damage. However, the thickness of the gloves can impair the grip and dexterity that can compromise the safety of the worker.
  3. Choose a suitable material that can provide an adequate protection required. Select a glove that can provide the highest level of protection from the hazards that are associated with the chemicals being used.
  4. Choose a suitable style and fit of the gloves. The worker should be comfortable to wear for the worker.
  5. Determine and ensure that the selection of gloves does not have an adverse effect. Latex gloves can cause adverse reactions to some users.
  6. Consider the workplace condition, such as exposure to extreme temperatures or involves performing repetitive movements. Dermatitis may be acquired if sweat accumulates inside the gloves. If repetitive movements are required, a flexible and elastic glove is needed.
  7. Consider the duration and nature of contact.
  8. Consider the cuff length of the glove. There are hazards that require a longer cuff length to protect the forearm and prevent the liquid from seeping into the gloves.
  9. Consider the maintenance required for the gloves, this include cleaning.
  10. Ensure that the gloves meet the appropriate standards.
  11. Consider the factors for biological hazards. Standard latex gloves provide protection for biological hazards; however, it may cause sensitization or allergic reactions. Therefore, synthetic rubber, nitrile, vinyl, or neoprenes are preferred as they eliminate the risk of an allergic reaction and can provide acceptable barrier protection against viruses, other micro-organisms and chemicals. Nitrile gloves are not suitable for a biological material being prepared in phenol or chloroform, nitrile is not resistant to both of these chemicals.
  12. Consider the factors for chemical hazards. Different chemicals have different recommendation of glove material, thus the best choice is the glove that has the highest resistance to the chemical that has the fastest breakthrough time. Check the chemical resistance chart provided by the glove manufacturers to determine which glove material can provide the best resistance for the chemical in use.
  13. Consider the factors of mechanical and physical hazards. Choose a glove that does not become a hazard themselves.

Indeed, you need to consider different things, make sure that these are reliable and comfortable. These suggestions can be practical, but you can never go wrong if you will try the Scotty's Gloves. There aren't any issues with the performance of the Scotty's Gloves. We have been getting a lot of questions about the Scotty's Gloves.

It is not necessary to buy expensive gloves, when you make a decision on what gloves to buy, it is important to take note of the glove’s function, protection, and more so, consider your personal style. If the mentioned components are there, it will be great no matter how much it costs.

Take note of the typical palm measurements, sizes may vary from the specific glove type, you may find that a smaller or larger size may perfectly fit you. To ensure that you have selected the proper glove size for your hand, please review the online size chart.

To look for the right work gloves or casual gloves on Scotty’s Gloves, you can begin on the homepage. Scan for the category that you want, select and click it. You will then see thousands of quality gloves for sale.

You do not have to worry, you can select the size of the glove, its brand, style, color and price range of the glove.

Letter sizes will range from S (small) to L (large). To find your glove size quickly, refer to the online size chart provided by Scotty’s Gloves.

Brand ranges from Majestic, Kinco, Red Steer, Edge and so much more! Also, you have to check out their new products that are made in America, which are offered by Worldwide Protective, Guardian and Sullivan.

Available styles of gloves ranges from ant vibration gloves, coated gloves, cotton/sting/knit/jersey/chore gloves, disposable gloves, driver’s gloves, high visibility gloves, kids gloves, ladies gloves, leather palms, mechanics gloves, military/law enforcement gloves, mitts or mittens, rag wool gloves, ski gloves, and welder’s gloves.

Having a hard time? You don't have to worry! There is a targeted keyword search that is available to help you with the right item.

Scotty’s Gloves offer wholesale to their products. Wholesale is the selling of goods in large quantities at a lower price. The discounted prices offered by Scotty's Gloves are 3% off for those who buy 5 or more pairs of gloves, 6% off for those who buy 10 or more pair of gloves, and 10% off for those who buy 20 or more pair of gloves.

With the information that has been laid out in this buyer’s guide, any shopper can find the right pair of mittens or gloves that can perfectly fit for them, which can be appropriate for them to use in their workplace or during the winter season. Rest assured that these gloves will last for years giving warmth and comfort.

Moreover, Scotty’s Gloves helps the interested buyers on what gloves they should buy. They give the users a way to compare the different specifications and performance of different gloves in their specific areas. This also allows the users to make an informed decision on which glove to use for a specific task, these areas are for cut protection, abrasion resistance, impact protection, gardening, and winter season.

Do not forget to purchase at Scotty’s Gloves! They have the best prices for the top brands in safety gloves. They also offer free shipping on orders that exceed over $150! What are you waiting for? Have your must-have for all seasons Majestic gloves at Scotty’s Gloves.

For more information and inquiries about Scotty’s gloves or any other brand, do not hesitate to reach us through the email provided.