OSHA (United States)

What is OSHA

Before 1970, workplace safety regulations in the United States were fragmented and largely dependent on the states. The OSH Act, signed in December 1970, created three agencies: OSHA, responsible for standards and enforcement; the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a research and technical advisory body within the health sector; and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent body that hears appeals against OSHA citations. The law covers most private employers and their workers in all states and territories, either directly or through approved state plans.

The U.S. system is characterized by highly detailed and prescriptive technical standards, along with a general duty clause that allows action to be taken regarding recognized hazards not covered by a specific standard. OSHA develops its standards through public consultation processes, publishes guidelines and voluntary programs, and enforces the law through inspections, citations, and fines, the amount of which is updated annually. Workers have the right to request inspections, access hazard information, and be protected from retaliation.

Twenty-two states and territories manage OSHA-approved state plans that cover both the private sector and state and local government employees, and seven others cover only government employees; these plans must be at least as effective as the federal program. For European companies with operations in the United States, OSHA provides a different compliance framework than the European one, focusing more on specific technical requirements, formal record-keeping, and written program documentation.

Main rules and obligations

• General duty clause. Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act: obligation to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that cause or may cause death or serious injury, applicable where there is no specific standard.
• General Industry (29 CFR 1910). Standards on work surfaces, emergency exits, machine guarding, lockout /tagout, confined spaces , personal protective equipment, hazard communication, noise, toxic substances, and other materials.
• Construction (29 CFR 1926). Specific standards for construction: fall protection, scaffolding , excavation, cranes, electricity, and training.
• Registration and notification (29 CFR 1904). Registration of work-related injuries and illnesses on forms 300, 300A, and 301, notification of fatalities within eight hours and of hospitalizations, amputations, and loss of eye within 24 hours, and annual electronic submission of data for certain establishments.
• Written programs. Many standards require documented programs: hazard communication, respiratory protection, hazardous energy control, confined spaces, emergency plans, and bloodborne pathogens.
• Training. Specific training requirements by standard, with documentary evidence, and voluntary programs such as Outreach Training (10 and 30 hour courses).
• Workers’ rights. Right to a safe place, to information and training, to request inspections, to access exposure records and to be protected against retaliation (section 11(c)).

Application and inspection

• Inspection priorities. Imminent danger, fatal and serious accidents, complaints and referrals, scheduled inspections in high-risk sectors, and national and local emphasis programs.
• Citations and sanctions. Classification of violations (de minimis, other-than-serious, serious, willful, repeated, failure to abate) with economic sanctions updated annually, appealable to the Review Commission.
• Voluntary programs. Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) for SMEs and free On-Site Consultation assistance.
• Management guidelines. Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs, which promote a non-mandatory management system approach.
• NIOSH. Research, recommended exposure limits and respirator certification, complementary to OSHA standards.

Organizational application: how to comply with OSHA

1. Determine the applicable jurisdiction (federal OSHA or state plan) and the Title 29 CFR regulations that affect the activity of each establishment.
2. Identify workplace hazards and apply specific rules; for hazards recognized without a rule, act in accordance with the general duty clause.
3. Develop and maintain required written programs (hazard communication, lockout/tagout, respiratory protection, confined spaces, emergencies) and hazard assessments for PPE.
4. Implement the injury and illness registration system (forms 300, 300A and 301), the timely notification procedures and electronic submission where appropriate.
5. Plan and document the training required by each standard and the training of new workers and job changes.
6. Display the official workers’ rights poster and the 300A annual summary within the required period, and ensure protection against retaliation.
7. Prepare the procedure for handling inspections and consider voluntary programs and free consultation for SMEs.

Preventive management software allows for maintaining written programs, 300 records, and training evidence for each US establishment, along with documentation from the other countries in the group, ensuring traceability in the event of an inspection.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Transferring the European system without adapting it to the prescriptive standards and written programs required by OSHA.
2. Ignoring the general duty clause, believing that only specific rules are enforceable.
3. Failure to meet the deadlines for reporting deaths and hospitalizations or incorrectly registering injuries.
4. Do not check if the state has its own plan with additional requirements.
5. Omit the specific documented training required by each standard.
6. Treating voluntary programs and guidelines as obligations or, conversely, ignoring their value for improving the system.

Official texts can be found on the OSHA website and in the Code of Federal Regulations; this sheet is for informational purposes only.

Regulatory and reference framework

• Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Federal law that creates OSHA and establishes the employer’s general duty.
• 29 CFR 1910, Occupational Safety and Health Standards . General industry standards.
• 29 CFR 1926, Safety and Health Regulations for Construction . Construction industry standards.
• 29 CFR 1904, Recordkeeping . Recording and reporting of work-related injuries and illnesses.
• OSHA-approved state plans . States and territories with their own programs.
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) . Federal research agency for occupational safety and health.

OSHA publishes the Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs and updates the penalty amounts annually; the Code of Federal Regulations can also be consulted on the Government Publishing Office website.