Before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) was enacted in 1970, workplace safety wasn't a primary concern among most employers. The federal government created a few initiatives throughout the 20th century, but most of the impetus to improve workplace safety came from organized labor, state laws concerning workers' compensation, and occasional public outrage at highly publicized workplace accidents, such as mine explosions. These efforts weren't comprehensive, and safety improvements weren't either. In the two years preceding OSHA's enactment, 14,000 workers died each year from workplace accidents and another 2 million were disabled or harmed annually. In 2017, fatalities were far lower at 5,147, whereas reported injuries and illnesses were higher at 2.8 million.
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