The mission of OSHA is to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for workers in the United States by setting and enforcing workplace safety and health standards, and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance to employers. OSHA fulfills its mission by:

• Developing workplace safety and health standards.
• Providing training programs and employer education.
• Enforcing OSHA standards via targeted inspections.
• Facilitating confidential worker complaints.
• Investigating fatalities, catastrophes, and complaints.
• Providing on-site and virtual compliance assistance.
• Mandating injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting.
• Offering grants for non-profit employee training.
• Publishing fact sheets – both online and in print.
• Organizing cooperative programs with labor groups.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was formed as a result of the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970. The mission of OSHA – which operates under the auspices of the Department of Labor – is to protect the rights of workers to safe and healthy working conditions, and reduce the human and economic costs associated with workplace hazards.

The agency focuses its resources on where they can have the greatest impact on reducing injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the workplace. Consequently, whereas OSHA’s initial enforcement strategy was to target problem and high-hazard industries, the strategy has evolved to address risks at specific sites with high injury rates through enforcement action, education, and training.

OSHA generally sets workplace safety and health standards for all industries in the public sector except for those regulated by another federal agency – for example, The Mine Safety and Health Administration. Self-employed workers, family members of farm employees, and public sector employees are also not protected by OSHA standards unless they are included in an OSHA-approved state plan.

You can find a list of OSHA-approved state plans in our OSHA Compliance Checklist, where you will also find information about the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and workers’ rights to file a compliant for non-compliance with OSHA standards. Safety Officers who are unsure about the mission of OSHA or their OSHA compliance obligations should seek professional compliance advice.

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