Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

The Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed by a bipartisan Congress in 1970 to respond to what was perceived to be a crisis in the workplace. Several studies had indicated that accidents and injuries on the job were increasing and that there were thousands of disabling diseases in the workplace caused by exposure to hazardous substances. It seemed that workers were not being adequately protected from hazards in the workplace and that federal regulation was needed. The act was passed “to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.” This act also created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to administer this act. Congress specified several steps for OSHA to implement this mandate:

• Encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to implement new or improve existing safety and health programs.
• Provide for research in occupational safety and health and develop innovative ways of dealing with occupational safety and health problems.
• Establish “separate but dependent responsibilities and rights” for employers and employees for the achievement of better safety and health conditions.
• Maintain a reporting and record-keeping system to monitor job-related injuries and illnesses.
• Establish training programs to increase the number and competence of occupational safety and health personnel.
• Develop mandatory job safety and health standards and enforce them effectively.
• Provide for the development, analysis, evaluation, and approval of state occupational safety and health programs.

OSHA is located in the Department of Labor and has legislative and executive functions with respect to the federal safety and health program. The mission of the agency is to ensure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health. OSHA and its state partners have about 2,100 inspectors to ensure compliance with standards, plus complaint discrimination investigators, engineers, physicians, educators, standards writers, and other technical and support personnel spread over more than 200 offices throughout the country. These people establish protective standards, enforce them in the workplace, and reach out to employers and employees through technical assistance and consultation programs.

The act encourages states to develop and operate their own job safety and health programs. These state programs are required to develop standards and enforcement procedures that are at least as effective as the federal program that prevents the states from “watering down” any part of federal requirements. OSHA approves and monitors these state programs to ensure that a state is effectively providing safety and health protection for its workers. As of June 15, 2005, 26 states were operating their own safety and health programs. Three of these state plans, however, covered only state and local government workers.

Two other agencies were established by the act to carry out certain aspects of the federal program. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is located in the Department of Health and Human Services and is the research arm of the safety and health program. NIOSH conducts research into safety and health-related problems and recommends criteria to OSHA for consideration in the setting of standards. Its objectives include (1) conducting research to reduce work-related illnesses and injuries; (2) promoting safe and healthy workplaces through interventions, recommendations, and capacity building; and (3) enhancing global workplace safety and health through international collaborations.

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