Interpreting the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: Some Early Principles and Commentaries

Commissioner Moran expounds upon several early interpretations of the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 concerning the definition of what constitutes a "recognized hazard" under the General Duty Clause of the Act, the responsibility of employers for the unsafe acts of their employees, the establishment of what constitutes a "reasonable time" between an inspection and the issuance of a citation, the appropriateness of penalties, and the extent to which stipulations should be accepted by the Commission. He suggests that, while the Act is undergoing growing pains, several of its more important sections have been sufficiently litigated so as to provide guidelines for those subject to its coverage.