History of OSHA

What do you think OSHA's job is?

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."

The OSH Act

Public Law 91-596)

manufacturing, construction, longshoring,

agriculture, law, medicine, charity and disaster relief
are covered by OSHA
Religious groups are covered if they employ workers
for secular purposes, such as maintenance or
gardening.
provided either directly by federal OSHA or through
an OSHA-approved state program.

The OSH Act covers Federal workers by conducting

inspections in response to complaints, but OSHA cannot
propose monetary fines against federal agencies.
OSHA conducts federal workplace inspections in
response to employee reports of hazards.

OSHA's Mission
The mission of OSHA is to save lives, prevent injuries
and protect the health of America's workers.
To achieve this, federal and state governments work
together with more than 100 million working men and
women and eight million employers. Some of the things
OSHA does to carry out its mission are:
Developing job safety and health standards and
enforcing them through worksite inspections
Maintaining a reporting and recordkeeping
system to keep track of job-related injuries and
illnesses
Providing training programs to increase
knowledge about occupational safety and health
assists the States in their efforts to assure safe
and healthful working conditions

OSHA rules also permit states and territories to

develop plans that cover only public sector (state and
local government) employees. In these cases, private
sector employment remains under federal OSHA
jurisdiction. Twenty-two states and territories operate
complete plans and four cover only the public sector.
OSHA is a small agency, with approximately 1,000
federal inspectors and 1,400 state inspectors to cover
about eight million workplaces.

Why was OSHA necessary?

Workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths were increasing, and no u

Why is this training important?

If there are hazards in your workplace, you will know your rights a

Training reduces direct and indirect occupational cost

According to the AFL-CIO 2009 Report, Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, the full
extent of occupational injuries and illnesses and their associated costs ($145 to 290
billion annually) is understated. What does this fact indicate?

More training is needed to educate both employers and workers ab

OSHAs training program has been virtually ineffective in educatin

Since its establishment in 1971, OSHA still does not have accurate

The federal government needs to authorize a congressional commi

The size of OSHA becomes graphically apparent when a simple calculation shows that if
the 8 million workplaces were distributed evenly among OSHAs federal and state
inspectors, each inspector would be responsible for _____ sites.

Feedback:

OSHA is a small agency, with approximately 1000 federal inspectors and 1400 state
inspectors to cover about eight million workplaces. A simple calculation
(8,000,000/2400) shows that each inspector would be responsible for 3,333 sites if the
inspections were distributed evenly among them. That is why it is important for workers
to know their rights and for employers to be aware of their responsibilities under OSHA.