History of OSHA
Learn about the history and highlights of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
1970
President Richard M. Nixon signs the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
1971
The first standards were adopted to provide a baseline for occupational health and safety protection on American soil.
1972
JANUARY 17TH
The OSHA Training Institute is created to train official OSHA inspectors and educate the public.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
The first states approved for South Carolina, Montana and Oregon to develop their own OSHA programs.
1975
The free consulting program is created. Over 500,000 companies have taken part over the past 30 years.
1978
JANUARY 20
Supreme Court decision establishing staffing criteria for state plans to be “at least as effective” as federal OSHA.
APRIL 12
New Directions Program (now known as the Susan Harwood Training Fellowship Program) to encourage the development of occupational safety and health training and education for employers and workers. (Over 1.3 million people trained since 1978).
JUNE 23
The cotton dust standard was promulgated by the Head of State to protect 600,000 workers from byssinosis. As a result, cases of “lung burns” dropped to 0.1 per 10,000 workers.
NOVEMBER 14
Publication of a lead standard aimed at reducing permissible exposure by 75% to protect 835,000 workers from damage to the nervous, urinary and reproductive systems. (Construction standard adopted in 1995).
1980
FEBRUARY 26
Supreme Court decision on Whirlpool affirming workers' right to engage in health and safety activities.
MAY 23
Medical and exposure records standard finalized to allow workers and OSHA access to medical and toxic exposure records maintained by the employer.
JULY 2
Supreme Court decision strikes down OSHA's benzene standard, establishing the principle that OSHA standards must address and reduce “significant risks” to workers.
SEPTEMBER 12
Updated fire protection standard and rules established for firefighters responsible for disabling nearly 95% of construction site fires.
1981
Updating electrical standards to simplify compliance and adopt a performance-based approach.
1982
Programas de protección voluntarios creados para reconocer a los centros de trabajo con programas de salud y seguridad sobresalientes (actualmente participan más de 1.400 centros).
1983
Hazard communication standard promulgated to provide information, training and labeling of toxic materials to employers and employees in the manufacturing sector (other industries added August 24, 1987).
1984
The first “final approvals” granted to state plans (Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Alaska) gave them the authority to operate with minimal OSHA oversight.
1986
Proposed trial penalties against Union Carbide's plant in Institute, West Virginia, for egregious violations involving respiratory protection and record keeping regarding injuries and illnesses.
1987
Standard for grain handling facilities adopted to protect 155,000 workers at nearly 24,000 elevators against the risks of fire and explosion from highly combustible grain dust.
1989
JANUARY 26TH
“Guidelines on the management of safety and health programs”, voluntary guidelines for effective safety and health programs based on VPP experience, published.
MARCH 6
Hazardous waste treatment operation and emergency response standard to protect 1.75 million public and private sector workers exposed to toxic waste from spills or hazardous waste sites.
SEPTEMBER 1
Lockout/tagout standard for hazardous energy sources published to protect 39 million workers from unexpected energization or start-up of machinery or equipment, and prevent 120 deaths and 50,000 injuries each year.
1991
Publication of a standard on occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens to prevent over 9,000 infections and 200 deaths a year, protecting 5.6 million workers against AIDS, hepatitis B and other diseases.
1992
OCTOBER 1
Education Centers created to make OSHA training courses more widely available to employers, workers and the public. Twenty centers train over 300,000 students each year - over 370,000 students were trained in 2005 alone.
FEBRUARY 24
Adoption of the Highly Hazardous Chemical Safety Management Standard to reduce the risk of fire and explosion for 3 million workers in 25,000 workplaces, preventing more than 250 deaths and over 1,500 injuries each year.
1993
1994
JUNE 27
First Expert Advisor software, GoCad, released to help employers comply with OSHA cadmium standard.
AUGUST 9
Construction fall protection standard revised to save 79 lives and prevent 56,400 injuries annually.
AUGUST 10
Asbestos standard updated to cut permissible exposures in half for nearly 4 million workers, preventing 42 cancer deaths each year.
1995
Official launch of OSHA's expanded web page to provide assistance on OSHA standards and compliance via the Internet.
1996
JUNE 6
Telephone and fax complaint handling policy adopted to expedite resolution of complaints about unsafe or unhealthy working conditions.
AUGUST 30
Scaffolding standard published to protect 2.3 million construction workers and prevent 50 deaths and 4,500 injuries a year.
1998
OSHA's Strategic Partnership Program was launched to improve workplace safety and health through voluntary national and local agreements.
1999
Site-specific targeting program established to concentrate OSHA resources where they are most needed on individual worksites with the highest injury and illness rates.
2000
Ergonomics program standard promulgated to prevent 460,000 musculoskeletal disorders among more than 102 million workers in 6.1 million industrial workplaces.
2001
JANUARY 10
Jersey's public employee plan receives final approval.
JANUARY 17
Steel erection standard, developed in conjunction with industry groups and unions to prevent 30 deaths and 1,142 injuries per year and save employers nearly $40 million annually. It is the first OSHA safety standard to be developed under the negotiated rulemaking process.
JANUARY 18
The Recordkeeping Rule was revised to improve the system employers use to track and record occupational injuries and illnesses.
In compliance with the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, OSHA revised its Bloodborne Pathogens Standard to clarify the need for employers to select safer needle devices.
MARCH 7-8
Under the auspices of the Congressional Review Act, the Senate voted 56-44 to repeal the Ergonomics Rule. The House followed the next day and voted 223-206 to repeal the rule. This is the first time Congress has exercised its authority under the law to repeal a federal standard.
MARCH 20
The Chairman signs S.J. Resolution 6, repealing the ergonomics rule.
APRIL 27
Occupational Safety and Health Administration celebrates its 30th anniversary; over the past three decades, the number of work-related deaths has dropped by half, and injuries and illnesses have declined by 40%.
SEPTEMBER 11
OSHA responds to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington DC. More than 1,000 OSHA employees from New York and across the country volunteer to help protect workers involved in cleanup and recovery efforts at both sites.
2002
MARCH 1
The agency launches the bi-weekly QuickTakes e-newsletter.
APRIL 4
Secretary Chao unveils a comprehensive plan designed to reduce ergonomic injuries through a combination of sector-specific guidelines, strict enforcement, awareness and assistance, and further research.
MAY 30
The recovery phase and clean-up of the World Trade Center disaster site come to an end. For more than eight months, three million man-hours were logged on a site like no other, but only 35 workers missed days of work due to injury, and no other lives were lost on the job.
2003
MARCH 11
OSHA announces an enhanced enforcement policy aimed at employers who have received “high severity” citations.
MARCH 13
Ergonomic guidelines issued for nursing home industry.
JULY 1
Final rule establishes criteria for recording work-related hearing loss.
OCTOBER 24
OSHA welcomes the 1000th site to achieve “Star” status in the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
2004
FEBRUARY 4
OSHA unveils its National Emergency Management Plan, a new directive that clarifies the agency's policies when responding to national emergencies.
MAY 28
Ergonomic guidelines published for retail grocery stores.
AUGUST 24
Final rule establishes procedures for handling whistleblower complaints under the Corporate Fraud and Crime Accountability Act of 2002, also known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
SEPTEMBER 2
Ergonomic guidelines announced for poultry processing industry.
NOVEMBER 24
Federal agencies to adopt H&S recordkeeping and reporting requirements for private sector workers.
2005
2006
FEBRUARY 27
OSHA publishes the final rule on hexavalent chromium, lowering the permissible exposure limit (PEL) from 52 to 5 micrograms per cubic centimeter, based on an 8-hour workday.
MARCH 15
Senate confirms President's nomination to head Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
NOVEMBER 14
The U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA unveils new guidelines for protecting employees from avian flu.
2007
The U.S. Department of Labor OSHA unveils new guidance on workplace pandemic flu preparedness.