The acronym, OSHA, stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency was created in 1970 by a congressional act entitled the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The agency’s mission is to ensure safe and healthy work conditions by establishing and enforcing regulations for companies doing business in the United States.
OSHA also provides training, education and outreach assistance to help workers identify and rectify hazardous work conditions. Other programs are designed for company officers to ensure compliance with established regulations. Additionally, the OSHA website has a wide variety of publications. There are also grants and programs for non-profit organizaitons and small businesses.
OSHA is administered by the Department of Labor and is led by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health who reports to the Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of Labor is a cabinet member for the President of the United States.
NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, was established by the same act of Congress. OSHA creates and enforces regulations and NIOSH conducts research and makes recommendations for regulatory action.
See the links below for the latest press releases issued by OSHA. These releases may be useful for determining what OSHA inspectors are looking for when they make an inspection at your site.