OSHA’s General Duty Clause: Examining Employers' Legal Duties

Found within the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires employers to provide a workplace free from “recognized hazards.” But what exactly does that mean, and how must an employer plan to eliminate hazards which have yet to be codified by the Department of Labor within the Code of Federal Regulations? In this session, we’ll discuss the history and development of the General Duty Clause as an OSHA enforcement tool, as well as how the General Duty Clause continues to develop today by both the courts and each incoming executive administration. You’ll gain a better understanding of how employers, safety officers and health professionals can create programs, policies, and engineering and administrative controls to help to defend against General Duty Clause inspections and OSHA enforcement actions.