Nov. 28, 2023
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Updated: December 2016
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act)
(29
USC §651 et seq.;
29 CFR Parts 1900 to 2400)
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) is administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The OSH Act covers most private sector employers and their employees in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories. Coverage is provided either directly by the Federal OSHA or by an OSHA-approved state job safety and health plan.
Federal OSHA also covers certain workers specifically excluded from a state plan, such as those in some states who work in maritime industries or on military bases.
Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by federal OSHA but are protected under the OSH Act if they work in states that have OSHA-approved state programs. States and territories may also develop plans that cover only public sector (state and local government) workers.
The OSH Act established a separate program for federal government employees. Section 19 of the OSH Act makes federal agency heads responsible for providing safety and healthful working conditions. Although OSHA does not fine federal agencies, it does monitor them and conducts inspections in response to workers� reports of hazards. Under a 1998 amendment to the OSH Act, the U.S. Postal Service is covered under the OSH Act just like any private sector employer.
The Act does not cover:
The Act assigns OSHA two regulatory functions: setting standards and conducting inspections to ensure that employers are providing safe and healthful workplaces. OSHA standards may require that employers adopt certain practices, means, methods, or processes reasonably necessary and appropriate to protect workers on the job. Employers must comply with all applicable OSHA standards and provide workers with a workplace that does not have serious hazards.
Compliance with standards may include implementing engineering controls to limit exposures to physical hazards and toxic substances, implementing administrative controls, as well as ensuring that employees have been provided with, have been effectively trained on, and use personal protective equipment when required for safety and health, where the former controls cannot be feasibly implemented. Employees must comply with all rules and regulations that apply to their own actions and conduct. Even in areas where OSHA has not set forth a standard addressing a specific hazard, employers are responsible for complying with the OSH Act's "general duty" clause. The general duty clause [Section 5(a)(1)] states that each employer "shall furnish . . . a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees."
The Act encourages states to develop and operate their own job safety and health programs. OSHA approves and monitors these �state plans,� which operate under the authority of state law. There are currently 26 states and 2 territories with OSHA-approved state plans. 21 states and one territory operate complete state plans (covering both the private sector and state and local government employees) and five states and one territory (Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin Islands) cover state and local government employees only. States with OSHA-approved job safety and health plans must set standards that are at least as effective as the equivalent Federal standard. Most, but not all of the state plan states, adopt standards identical to the Federal ones.
Federal OSHA Standards. Standards are grouped into four major categories: general industry (29 CFR 1910); construction (29 CFR 1926); maritime (shipyards, marine terminals, longshoring�29 CFR 1915-19); and agriculture (29 CFR 1928). While some standards are specific to just one category, others apply across industries. Among the standards with similar requirements for all sectors of industry are those that address access to medical and exposure records, personal protective equipment, and hazard communication.
The Act grants employees several important rights. Among them are the right to file a complaint with OSHA about safety and health conditions in their workplaces and, to the extent permitted by law, have their identities kept confidential from employers; contest the amount of time OSHA allows for correcting violations of standards; and participate in OSHA workplace inspections.
Private sector employees who exercise their rights under OSHA can be protected against employer reprisal, as described in Section 11(c) of the OSH Act. Employees must notify OSHA within 30 days of the time they learned of the alleged discriminatory action. OSHA will then investigate, and if it agrees that discrimination has occurred, OSHA will ask the employer to restore any lost benefits to the affected employee. If necessary, OSHA can initiate legal action against the employer. In such cases, the worker pays no legal fees. The OSHA-approved state plans have parallel employee rights provisions, including protections against employer reprisal. OSHA�s Whistleblower Protection Program enforces the anti-retaliation provisions under the OSH Act and other statutes.
Poster. All covered employers are required to display and keep displayed the OSHA ���Job Safety and Health: It���s the Law��� poster. Employers in states with an OSHA-approved state plan may be required to post a state version of the OSHA poster. There is a separate poster for Federal agencies. The OSHA poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place where employees can see it. Copies of the poster shall be at least 8 1/2 by 14 inches with 10 point type. This poster is also available in Spanish and other languages. Posting of the notice in languages other than English is not required, but OSHA encourages employers with workers that speak other languages to also display the other relevant versions of the poster.
Notices. Employees, former employees and their representatives have the right to review the OSHA Form 300, Log of Work-related Illnesses and Injuries, in its entirety. Employers are required to post the Summary of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300A) in a visible location so that employees are aware of the injuries and illnesses that occur in their workplace. Employers are required to post the Summary Form (300A) by February 1 of the year following the year covered by the form and keep it posted until April 30 of that year.
OSHA-approved state plan states must adopt occupational injury and illness recording requirements that are substantially identical to the Federal OSHA requirements. Since each state plan�s requirements may differ slightly, the Federal OSHA requirements are described below.
Records for employers with 10 or fewer employees. Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) informs them in writing that records must be kept. However, all employers covered by the OSH Act must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality, an amputation, the loss of an eye, or the in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees.
Records for employers in certain industries. If an employer�s business is in an industry that is classified as low hazard, the employer does not need to keep records unless OSHA or the BLS asks them to do so in writing. The partial industry classification exemption applies to individual establishments. If a company has several establishments engaged in different classes of business activities, some of the company�s establishments may be required to keep records, while others may be exempt. Industries currently designated as low-hazard include:
Business establishments classified in agriculture, mining, utilities, construction, manufacturing, or wholesale trade are not eligible for the partial industry classification exemption.
All other employers. Employers are required to use the Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses to classify work-related injuries and illnesses and to note the extent and severity of each case. When an incident occurs, the Log is used to record specific details about what happened and how it happened.
If the employer has more than one establishment or site, separate records for each physical location that is expected to remain in operation for one year or longer must be kept.
Employers are required to keep a separate Log (Form 300) and Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300A) for each physical location that is expected to be in operation for one year or longer. The Injury and Illness Incident Report (Form 301) is filled out when a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred. Together with the Form 300 and Form 300A, these forms help the employer and OSHA develop a picture of the extent and severity of work-related incidents.
Employers must record work-related injuries and illnesses that result in:
Employers must record any significant work-related injuries and illnesses that are diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, such as any work-related case involving cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured or cracked bone or a punctured eardrum.
Employers must record the following conditions when they are work-related:
Employers do not have to record certain injury and illness incidents such as a visit to a doctor solely for observation and counseling or those requiring first aid treatment only. For more information see the full list of Non-recordable Injury and Illness Incidents.
OSHA-approved state plan states must adopt occupational injury and illness reporting requirements that are substantially identical to the Federal OSHA requirements. Since each state plan�s requirements may differ slightly, the Federal OSHA requirements are described below.
Employers must report to OSHA work-related fatalities within 8 hours of finding out about it.
For any in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss employers must report the incident to OSHA within 24 hours of learning about it.
Only fatalities occurring within 30 days of the work-related incident must be reported to OSHA. Further, for an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye, the incidents must be reported to OSHA only if they occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident.
Employers have three options(https://www.osha.gov/report.html) for reporting the event:
Every establishment covered by the Act is subject to inspection by OSHA compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs). These occupational safety and health professionals possess the knowledge and experience required to conduct workplace inspections; they have been thoroughly trained in recognizing safety and health hazards and in enforcing OSHA�s Standards. In states with their own OSHA-approved state plan, pursuant to state law, state officials conduct inspections, issue citations for violations, and propose penalties in a manner that is at least as effective as the Federal program.
OSHA initiates inspections without advance notice based on the following priorities: imminent danger, catastrophes (fatalities or hospitalizations), worker complaints and referrals, targeted inspections (particular hazards, high injury rates), and follow-up inspections. Various OSHA publications and documents detail OSHA�s policies and procedures for inspections, including OSHA�s Field Operations Manual.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 requires OSHA to adjust its civil money penalties to account for inflation. This included a one-time adjustment covering the years since OSHA�s penalties were last adjusted and ongoing annual adjustments. The adjustments are not included in the dollar values listed below. The new penalty levels will be issued by July 1, 2016 and will take effect by August 1, 2016.
De Minimis violations: The OSH Act authorizes OSHA to treat certain violations, which have no direct or immediate relationship to safety and health, as de minimis, requiring no penalty or abatement. OSHA does not issue citations for de minimis violations.
Other than serious violation: A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm. A proposed penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation is discretionary.
Serious violation: A violation where a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and where the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. A penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation must be proposed.
Willful violation: A violation that the employer intentionally and knowingly commits. The employer either knows that what he or she is doing constitutes a violation, or is aware that a condition creates a hazard and has made no reasonable effort to eliminate it. The Act provides that an employer who willfully violates the Act may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $70,000 but not less than $5,000 for each violation. Proposed penalties for other-than-serious and serious violations may be adjusted downward depending on the employer�s good faith (demonstrated efforts to comply with the Act through the implementation of an effective health and safety program), history of violations, and size of business. Proposed penalties for willful violations may be adjusted downward depending on the size of the business. Usually no credit is given for good faith.
If an employer is convicted of a willful violation of a standard that has resulted in the death of an employee, the offense is punishable by a court imposed fine or by imprisonment for up to six months, or both. A fine of up to $250,000 for an individual, or $500,000 for an organization [authorized under the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1984 (1984 OCCA), not the OSH Act], may be imposed for a criminal conviction.
Repeat violation: A violation of any standard, regulation, rule, or order where, upon re-inspection, a substantially similar violation is found. Repeat violations can bring fines of up to $70,000 for each such violation. To serve as the basis for a repeat citation, the original citation must be final; a citation under contest may not serve as the basis for a subsequent repeat citation.
Failure to abate violation: Failure to correct a prior violation may bring a civil penalty of up to $7,000 for each day the violation continues beyond the prescribed abatement date.
Citation and penalty procedures may differ somewhat in states with their own OSH programs.
The following outlines procedures for appealing OSHA citations and penalties.
Appeals by employees and employers: If a complaint from an employee prompted the inspection, the employee or authorized employee representative may request an informal review of any decision not to issue a citation.
Employees may not contest citations, amendments to citations, penalties, or lack of penalties. They may contest the time allowed in the citation for abatement of a hazardous condition. They also may contest an employer's Petition for Modification of Abatement (PMA), which requests an extension of the abatement period. Employees who wish to contest the PMA must do so within 10 working days of its posting or within 10 working days after an authorized employee representative has received a copy
.Within 15 working days of the employer's receipt of the citation, the employer may submit a written objection to OSHA. If the PMA requests an abatement date that is two years or less from the issuance date of the citation, the Area Director has the authority to approve or object to the petition
.Any PMA requesting an abatement date that is more than two years from the issuance date of the citation requires the approval of the Regional Administrator as well as the Area Director. If the PMA is approved, the Area Director shall notify the employer and the employee representatives by letter.
The Area Director or Regional Administrator (as appropriate), after consultation with the Regional Solicitor�s Office, shall object to a PMA where the evidence supports non-approval (e.g., employer has taken no meaningful abatement action at all or has otherwise exhibited bad faith). In such cases, all relevant documentation shall be sent to the Review Commission in accordance with �1903.14a(d). Both the employer and the employee representatives shall be notified of this action by letter, with return receipt requested. Letters notifying the employer or employee representative of the objection shall be mailed on the same date that the agency objection to the PMA is sent to the Review Commission
.Employees may request an informal conference with OSHA to discuss any issues raised by an inspection, citation, notice of proposed penalty, or the employer's notice of intention to contest.
Informal conferences: When issued a citation or notice of a proposed penalty, an employer may request an informal conference with OSHA's Area Director to discuss the case. Employee representatives may be invited to attend the meeting. To avoid prolonged legal disputes, the Area Director is authorized to enter into settlement agreements that may revise citations and penalties.
Notice of contest: If the employer decides to contest the citation, the time set for abatement or the proposed penalty, he or she has 15 working days from the time the citation and proposed penalty are received in which to notify the OSHA Area Director in writing. An orally expressed disagreement will not suffice. This written notification is called a "Notice of Contest." There is no specific format for the Notice of Contest. However, it must clearly identify the employer's basis for contesting the citation, notice of proposed penalty, abatement period, or notification of failure to correct violations. To better identify the scope of the contest, it also should identify the inspection number and citation number(s) being contested.
A copy of the Notice of Contest must be given to the employees' authorized representative. If any affected employees are unrepresented by a recognized bargaining agent, a copy of the notice must be posted in a prominent location in the workplace, or else served personally upon each unrepresented employee.
Appeal review procedure: If the written Notice of Contest has been filed within 15 working days, the OSHA Area Director forwards the case to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). The Commission is an independent agency not associated with OSHA or the Department of Labor. The Commission assigns the case to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ may disallow the contest if it is found to be legally invalid, or a hearing may be scheduled for a public place near the employer's workplace. The employer and the employees have the right to participate in the hearing; the OSHRC does not require that they be represented by attorneys.
Once the ALJ has ruled, any party to the case may request a further review by OSHRC. Also, any of the three OSHRC commissioners may individually move to bring a case before the Commission for review. Commission rulings may be appealed to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
Appeals in state plan states: States with their own occupational safety and health programs have their own systems for review and appeal of citations, penalties, and abatement periods. The procedures are generally similar to Federal OSHA's, but a state review board or equivalent authority hears cases.
The OSH Act covers all private sector working conditions that are not addressed by safety and health regulations of another Federal agency under other legislation. OSHA also has the authority to monitor the safety and health of Federal employees. Federal agency heads are responsible for the safety and health of Federal employees. The OSHA-approved state plan states extend their coverage to state and local government employees.
Finally, OSHA is also responsible for administering a number of whistleblower laws relating to safety and health as described in the Whistleblower Protection section of this Guide and OSHA�s Whistleblower Protection webpage.
The Department of Labor provides employers, workers, and others with clear and easy-to-access information and assistance on how to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Among the many resources available are:
Because states with OSHA-approved job safety and health programs adopt and enforce their own standards under state law, copies of these standards can be obtained from the individual states. Many are available through state Web sites, which are linked from OSHA's State Occupational Safety and Health Plans webpage.
Cooperative Programs. OSHA offers a number of opportunities for employers, employees, and organizations to work cooperatively with the Agency. OSHA���s major cooperative programs are the Voluntary Protections Program (VPP), the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), OSHA Challenge, the Alliance Program, and the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP). For further information on OSHA���s cooperative programs, visit the Cooperative Programs section of OSHA���s website.
Voluntary Protection Programs: The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) are aimed at extending worker protection beyond the minimum required by OSHA standards. The VPP is designed to:
An employer may apply for VPP at the nearest OSHA regional office. OSHA reviews an employer's VPP application and visits the worksite to verify that the safety and health program described is in effect at the site. All participants must send their injury information annually to their OSHA regional offices. Sites participating in the VPP are not scheduled for programmed inspections. However, OSHA handles any employee complaints, serious accidents/catastrophes, or fatalities according to routine procedures.
The VPP is available in states under federal jurisdiction. Additionally, all OSHA-approved state plans that cover private-sector employees in the state operate similar programs. Interested companies in these states should contact the appropriate state agency for more information.
Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP): This program recognizes small employers who operate an exemplary safety and health management system. Employers who are accepted into SHARP are recognized as models for worksite safety and health. Upon receiving SHARP recognition, the worksite will be exempt from programmed inspections during the period that the SHARP certification is valid. To participate in SHARP, an employer must contact its state���s Consultation Program and request a free consultation visit that involves a complete hazard identification survey.
OSHA Challenge: This program provides opportunities for employers to work with OSHA and qualified volunteers (Challenge Administrators) to develop safety and health management systems (SHMS) on par with VPP and SHARP. OSHA Challenge breaks down SHMS implementation in three stages. For each stage, the participants identify actions, documentation, and outcomes. Unique aspects of OSHA Challenge include: no application prerequisites for participants except for a letter of commitment stating that they will follow the program and strive for safety and health excellence; no time constraints to complete the stages, which allows participants to work at their own level and pace; and the use of Challenge Administrators experienced in SHMS to assist participants, which limits the OSHA resources needed to manage the program.
Alliance Program: Through the Alliance Program, OSHA works with businesses, trade and professional organizations, unions, educational institutions, and other government agencies. Alliance Program participants work with OSHA to leverage resources and expertise to help develop compliance assistance tools, training opportunities, and other information to help employers and employees prevent on-the-job injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. OSHA���s Alliances with organizations in industries such as plastics, healthcare, maritime, chemical, construction, paper and telecommunications, among others, are working to address safety and health hazards with at-risk audiences, such as youth, immigrant workers, and small business.
Strategic Partnership Program: In this program, OSHA enters into an extended, voluntary, cooperative relationship with employers, associations, unions, and/or councils. Partnerships often cover multiple worksites, and in some instances, affect entire industries. Partner worksites may be very large, but most often they are small businesses averaging 50 or fewer employees. Strategic Partnerships are designed to encourage, assist, and recognize efforts to eliminate serious hazards and achieve a high level of worker safety and health. All Partnerships emphasize sustained efforts and continuing results beyond the typical three-year duration of the agreement.
Training and education: OSHA has more than 70 full-service field offices (called Area Offices) that offer a variety of informational services, such as publications, technical advice, audio-visual aids on workplace hazards, and lecturers for speaking engagements. Most of these field offices have an OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist (CAS). CASs provide general information about OSHA standards and compliance assistance resources, and are available for seminars, workshops, and speaking events. CASs promote OSHA���s cooperative programs and also encourage employers to take advantage of OSHA���s training resources and the tools available on the OSHA website.
The OSHA Training Institute in Arlington Heights, Illinois, provides basic and advanced training and education in safety and health for federal and state compliance safety and health officers; state consultants; other federal agency personnel; and private sector employers, employees, and their representatives. Course topics include electrical hazards, machine guarding, ventilation, and ergonomics, among others. The OSHA Training Institute has partnered with other training and education institutes to conduct Training Institute courses. These Education Centers, which are located throughout the country, provide additional opportunities for the public to receive training on safety and health topics.
The OSHA Outreach Training Program provides training for workers and employers on the recognition, avoidance, abatement, and prevention of safety and health hazards in workplaces. The program also provides information regarding workers' rights, employer responsibilities, and how to file a complaint. This is a voluntary program and does not meet training requirements for any OSHA standards. Through this program, workers can attend 10-hour or 30-hour classes delivered by OSHA-authorized trainers. The 10-hour class is intended for entry level workers, while the 30-hour class is more appropriate for workers with some safety responsibility.
Consultation services: OSHA's On-site Consultation Program offers free and confidential safety and occupational health advice to small and medium-sized businesses in all states across the country, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. On-site Consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing injury and illness prevention programs.
On-site OSHA consultation assistance includes an opening conference with the employer to explain the ground rules for consultation, a walk through the workplace to identify specific hazards and to examine those aspects of the employer's safety and health program that relate to the scope of the visit, and a closing conference. Later, the consultant sends a report of findings and recommendations to the employer. This process begins with the employer's request for consultation, which must include a commitment to correct any serious safety and health hazards identified. The consultant will not report possible violations of OSHA standards to OSHA enforcement staff unless the employer fails or refuses to eliminate or control worker exposure to any identified serious hazard or imminent danger. Should this occur, OSHA may investigate and begin enforcement action. The employer must also agree to allow the consultant to confer freely with employees during the on-site visit.
Additional information about consultation assistance, including a directory of OSHA funded consultation projects, can be found on OSHA's Consultation Program webpage.
Information sources: Information about state plans, VPPs, consultation programs, and inspections can be obtained from the nearest OSHA regional or area office. Area offices are listed in local telephone directories under the U.S. Department of Labor. Contact information for regional and area offices, as well as state plans and consultation programs can also be found on the OSHA website.
OSHA���s Office of Small Business Assistance administers OSHA���s On-Site Consultation Program and serves as liaison and point of contact with the Agency for small businesses. OSHA offers many services designed to help small businesses and welcomes comments and suggestions from small business owners and their employees.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA)
Contact OSHA
Tel.: 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742); TTY: 1-877-889-5627
The Employment Law Guide is offered as a public resource. It does not create new legal obligations and it is not a substitute for the U.S. Code, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations as the official sources of applicable law. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is complete and accurate as of the time of publication, and this will continue.
Table of Contents
"OSHA" redirects here. For other uses, see OSHA (disambiguation)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces.[2]: 12, 16 The United States Congress established the agency under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 29, 1970. OSHA's mission is to "assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance."[3] The agency is also charged with enforcing a variety of whistleblower statutes and regulations. OSHA's workplace safety inspections have been shown to reduce injury rates and injury costs without adverse effects on employment, sales, credit ratings, or firm survival.[4]
History
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The Bureau of Labor Standards of the Department of Labor has worked on some work safety issues since its creation in 1922. Economic boom and associated labor turnover during World War II worsened work safety in nearly all areas of the United States economy, but after 1945 accidents again declined as long-term forces reasserted themselves.[5] Additionally, new and powerful labor unions played an increasingly important role in worker safety post-World War II. In the 1960s, increasing economic expansion again led to rising injury rates, and the resulting political pressures led Congress to establish[5] the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on April 28, 1971, the date that the Occupational Health and Safety Act became effective.[6] The new agency incorporated much of what had been the original Bureau of Labor Standards. George Guenther was appointed by Labor Secretary James D. Hodgson as the agency's first director.
OSHA has run a number of training, compliance assistance, and health and safety recognition programs throughout its history. The OSHA Training Institute, which trains government and private sector health and safety personnel, began in 1972.[6] In 1978, the agency began a grant-making program, now called the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, to train workers and employers in reducing workplace hazards.[6] OSHA started the Voluntary Protection Programs in 1982, which allow employers to apply as "model workplaces" to achieve special designation if they meet certain requirements.[6]
OSH Act coverage
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The OSH Act covers most private-sector employers and their workers, in addition to some public-sector employers and workers in the 50 states and certain territories and jurisdictions under federal authority. Those jurisdictions include the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, Johnston Island, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Private sector employers
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The OSH Act covers most private sector employers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions—either directly through federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state plan.
State plans are OSHA-approved job safety and health programs operated by individual states instead of federal OSHA. Federal OSHA approves and monitors all state plans and provides as much as fifty percent of the funding for each program. State-run safety and health programs are required to be at least as effective as the federal OSHA program.
The following 22 states or territories have OSHA-approved state programs: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.[7]
Federal OSHA provides coverage to certain workplaces specifically excluded from a state’s plan, such as work in maritime industries or on military bases.
State and local governments
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Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by federal OSHA but have OSH Act protections if they work in those states that have an OSHA-approved state program. OSH Act rules also permit states and territories to develop plans that cover only public sector (state and local government) workers. In these cases, private sector workers and employers remain under federal OSHA jurisdiction. Five additional states and one U.S. territory have OSHA-approved state plans that cover public sector workers only: Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin Islands.
Federal government agencies
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OSHA’s protection applies to all federal agencies. Section 19 of the OSH Act makes federal agency heads responsible for providing safe and healthful working conditions for their workers. OSHA conducts inspections of federal facilities in response to workers' reports of hazards and under programs that target high-hazard federal workplaces.[8]
Federal agencies must have a safety and health program that meets the same standards as private employers. OSHA issues “virtual fines” to federal agencies – following an inspection where violations are found, OSHA issues a press release stating the size of the fine would be if the federal agency were a private sector employer. Under a 1998 amendment, the OSH Act covers the U.S. Postal Service the same as any private sector employer.
Not covered under the OSH Act
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The OSH Act does not cover the self-employed, immediate family members of farm employers, or workplace hazards regulated by another federal agency (for example, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Energy, or Coast Guard).[9]
Rights and responsibilities under OSH Act law
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Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace.[10]
By law, employers must provide their workers with a workplace that does not have serious hazards, and they must follow all OSH Act safety and health standards. Employers are obligated to identify and rectify safety and health problems. The OSH Act further requires that employers must first attempt to eliminate or reduce hazards by making feasible changes in working conditions, rather than relying solely on personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, or earplugs. Examples of effective ways to eliminate or reduce risks include switching to safer chemicals, enclosing processes to trap harmful fumes, or using ventilation systems to clean the air.
Employers must also:
Workers have the right to:[18]
Temporary workers must be treated like permanent employees. Staffing agencies and host employers share joint accountability for temporary workers. Both entities are therefore obligated to comply with workplace health and safety requirements and ensure worker safety and health. OSHA could hold both the host and temporary employers responsible for any violations.[20]
Health and safety standards
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The Occupational Safety and Health Act grants OSHA the authority to issue workplace health and safety regulations. These regulations include limits on hazardous chemical exposure, employee access to hazard information, requirements for the use of personal protective equipment, and requirements to prevent falls and hazards from operating dangerous equipment.
The OSH Act's current Construction, General Industry, Maritime, and Agriculture standards[21] are designed to protect workers from a wide range of serious hazards. Examples of OSHA standards include requirements for employers to provide fall protection such as a safety harness/line or guardrails; prevent trenching cave-ins; prevent exposure to some infectious diseases; ensure the safety of workers who enter confined spaces; prevent exposure to harmful chemicals; put guards on dangerous machines; provide respirators or other safety equipment, and provide training for certain dangerous jobs in a language and vocabulary workers can understand.
OSHA sets enforceable permissible exposure limits (PELs) to protect workers against the health effects of exposure to hazardous substances, including limits on the airborne concentrations of hazardous chemicals in the air.[22] Most of OSHA’s PELs were issued shortly after the adoption of the OSH Act in 1970. Attempts to issue more stringent PELs have been blocked by litigation from the industry; thus, the vast majority of PELs have not been updated since 1971.[23] The agency has issued non-binding, alternate occupational exposure limits that may better protect workers.[24][25]
Employers must also comply with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act. This clause requires employers to keep their workplaces free of serious recognized hazards and is generally cited when no specific OSHA standard applies to the hazard.
In its first year of operation, OSHA was permitted to adopt regulations based on guidelines set by certain standards organizations, such as the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, without going through all of the requirements of a typical rule-making. OSHA is granted the authority to promulgate standards that prescribe the methods employers are legally required to follow to protect their workers from hazards. Before OSHA can issue a standard, it must go through a very extensive and lengthy process that includes substantial public engagement, notice, and comment. The agency must show that a significant risk to workers exists and that there are feasible measures employers can take to protect their workers.
In 2000, OSHA issued an ergonomics standard. In March 2001, Congress voted to repeal the standard through the Congressional Review Act. The repeal, one of the first major pieces of legislation signed by President George W. Bush, is the first instance that Congress has successfully used the Congressional Review Act to block regulation.
Since 2001, OSHA has issued the following standards:
Enforcement
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OSHA is responsible for enforcing its standards on regulated entities. Compliance Safety and Health Officers carry out inspections and assess fines for regulatory violations. Inspections are planned for worksites in particularly hazardous industries. Inspections can also be triggered by a workplace fatality, multiple hospitalizations, worker complaints, or referrals.
OSHA is a small agency, given the size of its mission: with its state partners, OSHA has approximately 2,400 inspectors covering more than 8 million workplaces where 130 million workers are employed. In Fiscal Year 2012 (ending Sept. 30), OSHA and its state partners conducted more than 83,000 inspections of workplaces across the United States — just a fraction of the nation’s worksites.[27] According to a report by AFL–CIO, it would take OSHA 129 years to inspect all workplaces under its jurisdiction.[28]
Enforcement plays an important part in OSHA's efforts to reduce workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Inspections are initiated without advance notice, conducted using on-site or telephone and facsimile investigations, performed by trained compliance officers and scheduled based on the following priorities [highest to lowest]: imminent danger; catastrophes – fatalities or hospitalizations; worker complaints and referrals; targeted inspections – particular hazards, high injury rates; and follow-up inspections.
Current workers or their representatives may file a complaint and ask OSHA to inspect their workplace if they believe that there is a serious hazard or that their employer is not following OSHA standards. Workers and their representatives have the right to ask for an inspection without OSHA telling their employer who filed the complaint. It is a violation of the OSH Act for an employer to fire, demote, transfer or in any way discriminate against a worker for filing a complaint or using other OSHA rights.
When an inspector finds violations of OSHA standards or serious hazards, OSHA may issue citations and fines. A citation includes methods an employer may use to fix a problem and the date by which the corrective actions must be completed.
OSHA’s fines are very low compared with other government agencies. They were raised for the first time since 1990 on August 2, 2016, to comply with the 2015 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act passed by Congress to advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect. The new law directs agencies to adjust their penalties for inflation each year. The maximum OSHA fine for a serious violation is $13,653 (which can be assessed daily after a failure to "abate" the violation) and the maximum fine for a repeat or willful violation is $136,532.[29] In determining the amount of the proposed penalty, OSHA must take into account the gravity of the alleged violation and the employer’s size of business, good faith, and history of previous violations[citation needed]. Employers have the right to contest any part of the citation, including whether a violation actually exists.[30] Workers only have the right to challenge the deadline by which a problem must be resolved. Appeals of citations are heard by the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC).
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused about 1,300 workers and their families to contract the virus, with four deaths, at the Smithfield Foods packing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The governor, Kristi Noem, resisted initiating and enforcing measures to protect workers and the community.[31][32][33] The plant was fined $13,494 – the maximum allowed at the time – by OSHA for what was considered a single violation.[31]
OSHA carries out its enforcement activities through its 10 regional offices and 90 area offices.[27] OSHA’s regional offices are located in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Record keeping requirements
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Tracking and investigating workplace injuries and illnesses play an important role in preventing future injuries and illnesses. Under OSHA’s Recordkeeping regulation, certain covered employers in high-hazard industries are required to prepare and maintain records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses. This information is important for employers, workers, and OSHA in evaluating the safety of a workplace, understanding industry hazards, and implementing worker protections to reduce and eliminate hazards.
Employers with more than ten employees and whose establishments are not classified as a partially exempt industry must record serious work-related injuries and illnesses using OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301. Recordkeeping forms, requirements, and exemption information are on OSHA’s website.[34]
Whistleblower Protection Program
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OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program (WPP) enforces the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and 24 other statutes protecting workers who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.[17] Unlike OSHA’s Safety Enforcement complaints (or referrals) being completely anonymous, OSHA’s whistleblower investigations can not be anonymous as a Respondent is required to address all allegations of adverse actions taken against Complainant’s employment. Additionally, these whistleblower investigations follow the McDonnell-Douglas burden shifting framework. WPP’s Investigators conduct complex investigations pertaining to complaints of retaliation by an employer (Respondent) against an employee (Complainant) who reported a violation(s) covered under one of the 25 statutes. WPP Investigators act as neutral fact-finders; they do not work for either the Complainant or Respondent.[35] A WPP Investigator’s job is to impartially gather and analyze all relevant evidence to determine whether unlawful whistleblower retaliation has occurred.[17] Over the years, OSHA’s WPP has been responsible for enforcing these laws that protect the rights of workers to speak up without fear of retaliation, regardless of the relationship of these laws to occupational safety and health matters.[17]
Compliance assistance
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Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star Demonstration bannerOSHA has developed several training, compliance assistance, and health and safety recognition programs throughout its history.
The OSHA Training Institute, which trains government and private sector health and safety personnel, began in 1972.[36] In 1978, the agency began a grant-making program, now called the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, to train workers and employers in identifying and reducing workplace hazards.[36]
The Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) recognizes employers and workers in private industry and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety and health management programs and maintain injury and illness rates below the national average for their respective industries. In VPP, management, labor, and OSHA work cooperatively and proactively to prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through a system focused on: hazard prevention and control, worksite analysis, training, and management commitment and worker involvement.[36]
OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program[37] offers free and confidential advice to small and medium-sized businesses in all states across the country, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. Each year, responding to requests from small employers looking to create or improve their safety and health management programs, OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program conducts over 29,000 visits to small business worksites covering over 1.5 million workers across the nation. On-site consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing safety and health management programs.[37]
Under the consultation program, certain exemplary employers may request participation in OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). Eligibility for participation includes, but is not limited to, receiving a full-service, comprehensive consultation visit, correcting all identified hazards, and developing an effective safety and health management program. Worksites that receive SHARP recognition are exempt from programmed inspections during the period that the SHARP certification is valid.[38]
OSHA also provides compliance assistance through its national and area offices. Through hundreds of publications in a variety of languages, website safety, and health topics pages, and through compliance assistance staff, OSHA provides information to employers and workers on specific hazards and OSHA rights and responsibilities.[39]
Efficacy
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A 2012 study in Science found that OSHA's random workplace safety inspections caused a "9.4% decline in injury rates" and a "26% reduction in injury cost" for the inspected firms.[4] The study found "no evidence that these improvements came at the expense of employment, sales, credit ratings, or firm survival."[4] A 2020 study in the American Economic Review found that the decision by the Obama administration to issue press releases that named and shamed facilities that violated OSHA safety and health regulations led other facilities to increase their compliance and to experience fewer workplace injuries. The study estimated that each press release had the same effect on compliance as 210 inspections.[40][41]
Much of the debate about OSHA regulations and enforcement policies revolve around the cost of regulations and enforcement, versus the actual benefit in reduced worker injury, illness, and death. A 1995 study of several OSHA standards by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) found that OSHA relies "generally on methods that provide a credible basis for the determinations essential to rulemaking." Though it found that OSHA's findings and estimates are "subject to vigorous review and challenge", it stated that this is natural because "interested parties and experts involved in rulemakings have differing visions."[42]
OSHA has come under considerable criticism for the ineffectiveness of its penalties, particularly its criminal penalties. The maximum penalty is a misdemeanor with a maximum of 6 months in jail.[43][dubious – discuss] In response to the criticism, OSHA, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, has pursued several high-profile criminal prosecutions for violations under the Act and has announced a joint enforcement initiative between OSHA and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which has the ability to issue much higher fines than OSHA. Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats, labor unions, and community safety and health advocates are attempting to revise the OSH Act to make it a felony with much higher penalties to commit a willful violation that results in the death of a worker. Some local prosecutors are charging company executives with manslaughter and other felonies when criminal negligence leads to the death of a worker.[44]
A New York Times investigation in 2003 showed that over the 20-year period from 1982 to 2002, 2,197 workers died in 1,242 incidents in which OSHA investigators concluded that employers had willfully violated workplace safety laws. In 93% of these fatality cases arising from wilful violation, OSHA made no referral to the U.S. Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.[45] The Times investigation found that OSHA had failed to pursue prosecution "even when employers had been cited before for the very same safety violation" and even in cases where multiple workers died. In interviews, current and former OSHA officials said that the low rates of criminal enforcement were the result of "a bureaucracy that works at every level to thwart criminal referrals. ... that fails to reward, and sometimes penalizes, those who push too hard for prosecution" and that " aggressive enforcement [was] suffocated by endless layers of review.[45]
OSHA has also been criticized for taking too long to develop new regulations. For instance, speaking about OSHA under the George W. Bush presidency on the specific issue of combustible dust explosions, Chemical Safety Board appointee Carolyn Merritt said: "The basic disappointment has been this attitude of no new regulation. They don't want the industry to be pestered. In some instances, the industry has to be pestered in order to comply."[46]
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