Overview of occupational safety and health regulations in the United States

Abstract

The passage of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 has been noted to be the single most significant event for protecting worker safety and health in the United States (U.S.). Among other achievements, the OSH Act established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), responsible for setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. Lesser known to the general public, but arguably equally influential in terms of directing occupational safety and health conditions in the U.S., the OSH Act also created the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as an independent institute to conduct research and provide recommendations to OSHA for setting regulations. The OSH Act was not created in a vacuum, but rather as a Federal response to a history of devastating workplace safety incidents throughout the U.S. and was based on existing State safety and health laws and adoption of existing consensus standards. Throughout the more than five decades since the establishment of the OSH Act, efforts to improve working conditions in the U.S. have been met with legal, political, and financial challenges. Despite these barriers, through the efforts of activists, labor unions, occupational safety and health practitioners, and responsible employers, regulations governing workplace safety and health have made meaningful progress and continue to push society's expectations for employers to protect the safety and health of their employees.