The mission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is to assure that every U.S. worker goes home whole and healthy every day. Toward that end, the agency sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards, encourages voluntary compliance through consultation and partnerships, and promotes safety training and education for workers and employers. Since Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), which created OSHA as an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor, workplace fatalities have been cut in half and occupational injury and illness rates have declined 40 percent. At the same time, U.S. employment has nearly doubled.

Under the OSH Act, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful work environment in line with standards set by OSHA. Protecting workers against workplace hazards requires every employer and every worker to make safety and health a top priority. OSHA's charge is to offer leadership and encouragement to workers and employers in carrying out this responsibility. OSHA has a staff of about 2,250, including about 1,250 inspectors in 67 field offices. Sharing the responsibility for oversight of workplace safety and health are twenty-five states that run their own OSHA programs with about 2,800 employees, including about 1,250 inspectors.

Early OSHA standards focused primarily on safety and establishing precise safety requirements, such as the specific height for guardrails on stairs. Newer standards take a performance or program approach, identifying a safety or health objective and providing a framework for employers to use in achieving that goal. OSHA standards cover the gamut of workplace safety and health issues, including machine guarding, fall protection, chemical-hazard communication, and protection against blood-borne pathogens such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and hepatitis B.

OSHA's enforcement program has changed dramatically over the years. The agency has continually attempted to target its resources toward the most hazardous worksites, as well as respond to worker complaints and investigate fatal accidents. Initially, OSHA focused on sites in industries with high injury rates. More recently, OSHA has obtained site-specific injury and illness data and has been able to concentrate on individual sites with poor safety and health records. The agency conducts about 35,000 inspections each year; states running their own OSHA programs inspect an additional 55,000 workplaces. To foster voluntary compliance with OSHA standards and assist employers in setting up ongoing safety and health programs, OSHA offers free consultations and seeks to establish partnerships with individual workplaces and with trade groups and unions.

The OSHA consultation program, designed for smaller employers, provides free assistance to employers who request help with safety and health programs and specific problems. Employers agree in advance to correct serious hazards identified by the consultant. The consultation program is administered by state authorities and is completely separate from the enforcement effort. OSHA's premier partnership is the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). Individual workplaces that meet criteria for excellence in safety and health may apply to the agency for VPP recognition. VPP sites serve as models for their industries and their communities, and they average 50 percent fewer injuries than their non-VPP counterparts. The OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP) is open to sites with a similar commitment but varying levels of achievement. It includes both national and regional partnerships. These partnerships combine the resources of OSHA, trade groups, and unions to develop successful strategies for preventing injuries and illnesses and measure the results.

To further assist employers and workers, OSHA maintains an extensive web site (http://www.osha.gov) that includes the agency's standards, publications, training materials, interactive software covering specific standards and hazards, small business information, an online complaint filing system for workers, and links to many other sources of information on job safety and health. The agency also offers safety and health training at its Chicagoarea training institute and through twelve educational centers located at community colleges and universities around the country. OSHA is developing satellite-delivered and web-based training programs to make its training available to a wider audience. Through its New Directions grants, OSHA encourages nonprofit organizations such as unions and trade associations to develop additional training materials and offer training courses.

Improving work environments is a long-term proposition that requires daily diligence and ongoing commitment in the face of competing priorities for time, energy, and resources. OSHA's mandate is to aid employers and employees to make this commitment and continually pursue excellence in job safety and health.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

(SEE ALSO: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Occupational Safety and Health; Occupational Safety and Health Administration)