OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

The US federal agency that sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards — and every employee's right to a safe work environment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a federal agency within the Department of Labor that was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. OSHA's mission is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA covers most private sector employers and their workers, as well as some public sector employers. Industries with the highest injury rates — construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare — receive the most OSHA scrutiny.

Every employee covered by OSHA has specific rights: the right to work in conditions that don't pose a risk of serious harm; the right to receive training on hazards in a language they understand; the right to request an OSHA inspection of their workplace without fear of retaliation; the right to see OSHA injury and illness logs; and the right to file a complaint if they believe their workplace is unsafe. Employers cannot legally retaliate against employees for exercising OSHA rights.

OSHA's general duty clause requires employers to provide a workplace 'free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm' — even for hazards not covered by a specific OSHA standard. This clause has been applied to everything from ergonomic risks to workplace violence. OSHA inspections can be triggered by worker complaints, referrals from other agencies, fatalities, or programmed high-hazard industry targeting.