The federal government, different states and the US Department of Labor have been tasked with a responsibility of ensuring that all employees work in safe environments. They are major players in this issue as they deal with enacting of various legislations while others enforce them. All this shows how Safety and Health of employees at workplaces are taken very seriously in the US. These agencies have the obligation of enforcing all the safety and health legislations and regulations enacted by the Federal government and those in different States. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which is under the Department of labor is the biggest agency among three agencies. It pertains with the safety and health issues of millions of employees in the private sector. It is responsible for over 100 million workers working in more than 6 million workplaces all over the US. It has an annual budget of $400 million and must guarantee that every workplace has a workplace safety policy in place. The task of ensuring every employer has a functional safety policy in area is left in the hands of about 2000 highly trained workplace safety and health inspectors.The second agency in Department of Labor is the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) agency. It regulates the safety and health regulations contained in the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Mining activities and mining places have lots of hazards and risks that can affect the employees. Employers, therefore, are opted with the work of having a workplace safety policy.The third agency in the Department of Labor is the Wage and Hour Division tasked with the responsibility of enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act protects the health of the American youth under the age of 18years. This agency promotes the workplace safety policy regulations as per the act. It ensures the employers employ people who are of the right age and assigns the right number of hours according to age category. Severe penalties in courts of law are meted out to employers who do not abide the Act.The Department of Labor has the three agencies enforce workplace safety policy legislations, but it also champions some other programs. These programs are tailored to benefit the employers and some are compulsory to be taken. Such programs include those promoting alcohol and drug for work places and the safety training program. These programs are needed to be enforced b the employers in their work places.
