AT-A-GLANCE

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) was passed to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work. This law created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which sets and enforces protective workplace safety and health standards. OSHA also provides information, training, and assistance to employers and workers.

Under the OSH Act, employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace.

RIGHTS AND Employees have the right to: RESPONSIBILITIES • Working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm. Employers must: • Receive information and training (in a language • Follow all relevant OSHA safety and health workers can understand) about chemical and standards. other hazards, methods to prevent harm, and • Find and correct safety and health hazards. OSHA standards that apply to their workplace. • Inform employees about chemical hazards • Review records of work-related injuries and through training, labels, alarms, color-coded illnesses. systems, chemical information sheets and other • Get copies of test results done to find and methods. measure hazards in the workplace. • As of January 1, 2015, notify OSHA within • File a complaint asking OSHA to inspect their 8 hours of a workplace fatality or within 24 hours workplace if they believe there is a serious of any work-related inpatient hospitalization, hazard or that their employer is not following amputation or loss of an eye (1-800-321-OSHA OSHA rules. When requested, OSHA will keep all [6742]); www.osha.gov/report_online). identities confidential. • Provide required personal protective equipment • Use their rights under the law without retaliation. at no cost to workers.* If an employee is fired, demoted, transferred or • Keep accurate records of work-related injuries retaliated against in any way for using their rights and illnesses. under the law, they can file a complaint with • Post OSHA citations, injury and illness summary OSHA. This complaint must be filed within 30 data, and the OSHA Job Safety and Health - It’s days of the alleged retaliation. The Law poster in the workplace where workers will see them. • Not retaliate against any worker for using their rights under the law. * Employers must pay for most types of required personal protective equipment.

OSHA When an inspector finds violations of OSHA standards or serious hazards, OSHA may issue STANDARDS citations and fines. A citation includes methods OSHA standards are rules that describe the an employer may use to fix a problem and the methods employers are legally required to follow date by when the corrective actions must be to protect their workers from hazards. Before completed. OSHA can issue a standard, it must go through a Employers have the right to contest any part of very extensive and lengthy process that includes the citation, including whether a violation actually substantial public engagement, notice and com- exists. Workers only have the right to challenge ment. The agency must show that a significant the deadline for when a problem must be resolved. risk to workers exists and that there are feasible Appeals of citations are heard by the independent measures employers can take to protect their Occupational Safety and Health Review workers. Commission. Construction, General Industry, Maritime, and Agriculture standards protect workers from a wide HELP FOR EMPLOYERS range of serious hazards. These standards limit the amount of hazardous chemicals workers can OSHA offers free confidential advice. Several be exposed to, require the use of certain safe programs and services help employers identify practices and equipment, and require employers and correct job hazards as well as improve their to monitor certain workplace hazards. injury and illness prevention programs.

Examples of OSHA standards include require- Free On-Site Consultation ments to provide fall protection, prevent trenching OSHA provides a free service, On-Site Consulta- cave-ins, prevent exposure to some infectious tion, for small businesses with fewer than 250 diseases, ensure the safety of workers who enter workers at a site (and no more than 500 employ- confined spaces, prevent exposure to such ees nationwide). On-site Consultation services are harmful substances as asbestos and lead, put separate from enforcement and do not result in guards on machines, provide respirators or other penalties or citations. Each year, OSHA makes safety equipment, and provide training for certain more than 29,000 consultation visits to small dangerous jobs. businesses to provide free compliance assis- Employers must also comply with the General tance. By working with the OSHA Consultation Duty Clause of the OSH Act. This clause requires Program, certain exemplary employers may employers to keep their workplaces free of serious request participation in OSHA’s Safety and recognized hazards and is generally cited when no Health Recognition Program, SHARP. To locate specific OSHA standard applies to the hazard. the OSHA Consultation Office nearest you, visit www.osha.gov/consultation or call 1-800-321- OSHA (6742). INSPECTIONS Inspections are initiated without advance notice, Compliance Assistance conducted using on-site or telephone and facsim- OSHA has compliance assistance specialists ile investigations, performed by highly trained throughout the nation who can provide general compliance officers, and based on the following information about OSHA standards and priorities: compliance assistance resources. Contact your local OSHA office for more information or visit • Imminent danger. www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/ • Catastrophes – fatalities or hospitalizations. cas.html. • Worker complaints and referrals. • Targeted inspections – particular hazards, high Cooperative Programs injury rates. OSHA offers cooperative programs to help prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses in the workplace. • Follow-up inspections. Alliance Program – OSHA works with groups On-site inspections can be triggered by a com- committed to worker safety and health to develop plaint from a current worker or their representative compliance assistance resources and educate if they believe there is a serious hazard or that workers and employers. OSHA Strategic Partner- their employer is not following OSHA standards ships (OSP) – Partnerships are formalized through or rules. Often the best and fastest way to get a tailored agreements designed to encourage, hazard corrected is to notify your supervisor or assist, and recognize partner efforts to eliminate employer. serious hazards and achieve model workplace

safety and health practices. Voluntary Protection State and Local Government Workers Programs (VPP) – The VPP recognize employers State and local government workers are not and workers in private industry and federal agen- covered by Federal OSHA, but they do have cies who have implemented effective safety and protections in states that operate their own health management programs and maintain injury programs. The following states have approved and illness rates below the national average for state programs: AK, AZ, CA, CT, HI, IA, IL, IN, KY, their respective industries. In VPP, management, MD, MI, MN, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OR, SC, TN, UT, labor, and OSHA work cooperatively and proac- VA, VT, WA, WY, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. tively to prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and the Virgin Islands programs cover public sector (state INFORMATION AND EDUCATION and local government) workers only. Federal OSHA OSHA Training Institute covers private sector workers in these jurisdictions. The OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Cen- ters are a national network of nonprofit organiza- Federal Government Workers tions authorized by OSHA to deliver occupational OSHA’s protection applies to all federal agencies. safety and health training to private sector Although OSHA does not fine federal agencies, it workers, supervisors, and employers. does monitor federal agencies and responds to workers’ complaints. Educational Materials OSHA has a variety of educational materials and Not Covered by the OSH Act: electronic tools available on its website at These Self-employed workers; and workplace hazards include utilities such as expert advisors, electronic regulated by another federal agency (for example, compliance assistance, videos and other informa- the Mine Safety and Health Administration, tion for employers and workers. OSHA’s software the Department of Energy, or Coast Guard). programs and eTools walk you through safety and health issues and common problems to find the CONTACT OSHA best solutions for your workplace. For questions or to get information or advice, to OSHA’s extensive publications help explain OSHA report an emergency, report a fatality or catastro- standards, job hazards, and mitigation strategies phe, order publications, sign up for OSHA's and provide assistance in developing effective e-newsletter QuickTakes, or to file a confidential safety and health programs. complaint, contact your nearest OSHA office, visit www.osha.gov or call OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA Visit www.osha.gov/publications or call 1-800- (6742), TTY 1-877-889-5627. 321-OSHA (6742). QuickTakes For assistance, contact us. OSHA’s free, twice-monthly online newsletter, We are OSHA. We can help. QuickTakes, offers the latest news about OSHA It’s confidential. initiatives and products to assist employers and workers in finding and preventing workplace hazards. To sign up for QuickTakes, visit www.osha.gov/quicktakes.

WHO DOES OSHA COVER Private Sector Workers OSHA covers most private sector employers and workers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions either directly through U.S. Department of Labor Federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state www.osha.gov program. State-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective as the Federal OSHA program.

OSHA 3439-B-12R 2014