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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration Agency is established.

Date: 1970

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Congress establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Agency (OSHA) under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

OSHA's mission is to: "ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance" (OSHA, n.d.).

Fought for by organizers working against fatal working conditions since the 1920s, the act gives workers the right to challenge employers if their worksites are not safe. However, the act still leaves considerable power in the hands of the employer in regards to creating a safe workplace.

Rosenthal (2021) writes: "From being able to decide when—or whether—to use the bathroom to protecting themselves from toxic substances, refusing to perform particularly hazardous tasks, learning about the hazards at their workplaces, or obtaining appropriate medical care for occupational injuries, workers are at the mercy of potentially dictatorial employers."