Does OSHA Have Jurisdiction Over The NFL?

Have you ever considered who regulates the safety of NFL players or how they can properly regulate the game without changing the dynamics of the sport?

A study was conducted by Harvard’s Football Player Health Study to analyze the common conditions in football players, which raised questions about the legal and ethical grounds of the NFL. Although not many consider NFL players “employees”, they actually are employed by the NFL, which means that OSHA has jurisdiction over the league.

Although OSHA has never created any policies specific to sports teams, they are legally responsible for ensuring that the employees of the NFL are subject to safe work environments. One boundary that keeps OSHA from setting safety standards for the NFL is acknowledging that no regulations and rules set by OSHA can change the nature of the game.

Speculation insists that even if OSHA decided to target head injuries and concussions they would not specifically target the NFL, but instead create a large scale regulation across all industries. Regulating the NFL would not be a politically popular choice for OSHA, but, with cautious steps, it could reduce the risk of injuries in the workplace for NFL employees.

It is important that every workplace instills a strong safety policy and puts the safety of all employees first no matter what type of industry. If you have any questions on how you can improve your workforce and workplace safety please visit www.smartsafetygulfcoast.com or email info@smartsafetygulfcoast.com.