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Safety

OSHA: Workplace Safety Plans

Workers have the right to a safe workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) was passed to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work. The law requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. The OSH Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which sets and enforces protective workplace safety and health standards. To help assure a safe and healthful workplace, OSHA also provides workers with the right to:

  • Ask OSHA to inspect their workplace;
  • Use their rights under the law without retaliation and discrimination;
  • Receive information and training about hazards, methods to prevent harm, and the OSHA standards that apply to their workplace. The training must be in a language you can understand;
  • Get copies of test results done to find hazards in the workplace;
  • Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses;
  • Get copies of their medical records.

In addition, OSHA provides information, training, and assistance to workers and employers.

Workers may file a complaint to have OSHA inspect their workplace if they believe that their employer is not following OSHA standards or that there are serious hazards. Contact the OSHA office nearest you by calling OSHA’s toll free number: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or TTY 1-877-889-5627 if you have questions or want to file a complaint. All information will be kept confidential. For more information, go to OSHA’s Workers page.

Select a state from the map to show contact information**.

States Map

**Note: Twenty-six states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans. Twenty-two State Plans (21 states and one U.S. territory) cover both private and state and local government workplaces. The remaining six State Plans (five states and one U.S. territory) cover state and local government workers only. This map requires javascript to be enabled. A text version is also available.

Photo credit: The Library of Congress via Foter.com / No known copyright restrictions