The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970. Its mission is to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths by issuing and enforcing rules (called standards) for workplace safety and health.

OSHA Authority
OSHA's statutory authority extends to most nongovernmental workplaces where there are employees. State and local government workers are excluded from Federal coverage, however, states operating their own state workplace safety and health programs under plans approved by the U.S. Department of Labor cover most private sector workers and are also required to extend their coverage to public sector (state and local government) workers in the state. Section 2 (11) of the OSH Act encourages states to develop and operate their own state OSH programs.

The same act (OSHA) also created the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a research agency whose purpose is to determine the major types of hazards in the workplace and ways of controlling them. As of March 2006, the agency is headed by Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin Foulke.

OSHA regulations [29 CFR Part 1956] also permit states without approved plans to develop plans that cover only public sector workers. In these states, private sector employment remains under Federal OSHA jurisdiction. Twenty-two states and territories operate plans covering both the public and private sectors and four states - Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and the US Virgin Islands - operate public employee only plans.

History
OSHA was widely criticized in its early years for confusing, burdensome regulations. A good deal of the early conflict came about because of arbitrary and inconsistent enforcement during OSHA's early years. In addition, businesses were expected to retrofit guards and other safety devices on existing equipment and to implement other hazard controls, often at considerable expense, to bring them in line with then-current best safety practices. Other requirements, such as mandated training, communication, and extensive documentation were seen as even more difficult and expensive.

With time, manufacturers of industrial equipment have included OSHA-compliant safety features on new machinery. Enforcement has become more consistent across jurisdictions, and some of the more outdated or irrelevant rules have been repealed or are not enforced.

During the Jimmy Carter administration, under the leadership of University of Cincinnati toxicologist Eula Bingham, OSHA began to concentrate more on health hazards, such as toxic chemicals. Bingham also launched the "New Directions" program, OSHA's first worker training grant program.

With the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations came efforts to weaken OSHA enforcement and rulemaking, although several important rules were issued including hazard communication (right to know about chemical exposures) and blood-borne pathogens (to protect workers against illnesses such as hepatitis and AIDS). The Reagan administration also launched OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), OSHA's first foray into voluntary programs and partnerships with industry. In the VPP, management, labor, and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system. Approval into VPP is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health.

The Bill Clinton administration began a reorganization of OSHA's approach, focusing more on "stakeholder" satisfaction through compliance assistance. When the Republicans took over Congress in 1994, one of their goals was reducing some of the agency's ability to issue standards. Some Republican sponsored bills were stopped by the Democratic minority and moderate Republicans, but other legislation passed, such as the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 and the Congressional Review Act.

In 2000, OSHA issued the ergonomics standard after ten years of study and struggles with a Republican-controlled Congress and business associations such as the Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers that were unconvinced that additional government regulation was the right way to address the issue of ergonomic injuries to American workers. Ergonomic injuries (also known as musculoskeletal injuries) such as back injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome, account for 1/3 of all serious injuries suffered by American workers. In March 2001, the Republican controlled Congress voted to repeal the standard and the repeal was one of the first major pieces of legislation signed by President George W. Bush. Since the repeal of the ergonomics standard, OSHA has issued three ergonomics guidelines, and only a small handful of ergonomic citations under the Act's "general duty" clause.