All About OSHA

Congress created OSHA to assure safe and healthful conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education and compliance assistance. Under the OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their workers. On December 29, 1970, President Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) into law, establishing OSHA. Coupled with the efforts of employers, workers, safety and health professionals, unions and advocates, OSHA and its state partners have dramatically improved workplace safety, reducing work-related deaths and injuries by more than 65 percent. In 1970, an estimated 14,000 workers were killed on the job - about 38 every day. For 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports this number fell to about 4,500 or about 12 workers per day. At the same time, U.S. employment has almost doubled to over 130 million workers at more than 7.2 million worksites. The rate of reported serious workplace injuries and illnesses has also dropped markedly, from 11 per 100 workers in 1972 to 3.5 per 100 workers in 2010. OSHA's safety and health standards, including those for asbestos, fall protection, cotton dust, trenching, machine guarding, benzene, lead and bloodborne pathogens have prevented countless work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths. Nevertheless, far too many preventable injuries and fatalities continue to occur. Significant hazards and unsafe conditions still exist in U.S. workplaces; each year more than 3.3 million working men and women suffer a serious job-related injury or illness. Millions more are exposed to toxic chemicals that may cause illnesses years from now. In addition to the direct impact on individual workers, the negative consequences for America's economy are substantial. Occupational injuries and illnesses cost American employers more than $53 billion a year - over $1 billion a week - in workers' compensation costs alone. Indirect costs to employers, including lost productivity, employee training and replacement costs, and time for investigations following injuries can more than double these costs. Workers and their families suffer great emotional and psychological costs, in addition to the loss of wages and the costs of caring for the injured, which further weakens the economy.