Workplace Safety Facts

If you’re in charge of your company’s human resources and/or safety functions, it’s important for you to make sure you understand the most important workplace safety facts.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is charged with ensuring that workers in the U.S. have working environments that are safe and free from hazards. OSHA is responsible for establishing and enforcing workplace safety regulations, as well as for providing employers with the information and training necessary to be in compliance.

While enforcement is an important part of what OSHA does, prevention of workplace injuries is at the heart of the agency’s mission. Everyone benefits when workplaces are free from occupational hazards, and OSHA takes its responsibility of providing business owners with the tools they need to prevent safety problems from occurring very seriously.

OSHA makes numerous workplace safety facts publications and other resources available to employers at no cost, both in print and via the Internet. Employers concerned with OSHA compliance and improving efforts to prevent on-the-job injuries frequently visit the OSHA website, where a wide variety of training materials and other tools designed to protect American workers are readily available in both English and Spanish. Employers may also request assistance via the OSHA hotline, by calling 1-800-321-OSHA.

In further support of its mission to work with employers to create safe and healthy workplaces, OSHA offers free workplace consultations to small businesses throughout the United States. The purpose of these consultations is to assist business owners recognize and correct potential hazards, and to provide on-site assistance and support for organizations that are in the process of setting up workplace health and safety programs.

Companies must comply with all applicable OSHA regulations. The laws governing workplace safety are very clear, and OSHA’s regulatory enforcement is very strict. Making sure that the workforce has safe working conditions is OSHA’s primary concern, and the agency’s enforcement powers are quite strong. OSHA strives to maintain standards of fairness when it comes to inspection and enforcement procedures. OSHA is more than willing to work with those employers who want to do what is right in terms of workplace safety.

Business owners and managers are responsible for being aware of and compliant with all OSHA regulations that apply to their companies. For example, any organization that has hazardous materials onsite must maintain up-to-date Material Safety Data Sheets and keep them available to employees at all times. Organizations that use dangerous equipment must observe lockout-tagout procedures. Companies must also follow OSHA recordkeeping and reporting guidelines regarding injuries and illnesses. These are just a few examples of the many OSHA regulations that impact business operations.

Back injuries are among the most frequently occurring occupational injuries. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate that more than one million members of the U.S. workforce experiences a work-related back injury every year. Back injuries are involved in roughly 25 percent of all work related injuries and workers’ compensation claims.

Back injuries are certainly not the only type of safety concern in the workplace. Many work related injuries are associated with slip and falls, muscle sprains and strains, air quality, noise exposure, repetitive stress injuries, improper operation of equipment, and numerous additional hazards and problems.

• OSHA came into being in 1971.
• Since OSHA’s inception, the rate of workplace fatalities has decreased by more than 60 percent.
• The rate of occupational injuries has diminished by more than 40 percent since OSHA began.
• More than 80 million visitors log on to OSHA.gov each year.
• OSHA’s annual budget appropriation is in excess of $485 million.
• OSHA’s local offices staff more than 70 professional Compliance Assistance Specialists whose jobs involve providing workplace safety facts and training to employers and workers.
• During 2006, less than one percent of OSHA inspections were for employers involved in willful and/or repeated violations of OSHA regulations.
• In 2006, more work related injuries occurred in service occupations (67 percent) than in manufacturing businesses (33 percent).
• During 2006, OSHA conducted more than 38,500 workplace inspections, yet fewer than 7,400 were related to specific complaints or accident occurrences.
• During 2006, more than 440,000 people participated in the OSHA training opportunity made available through the agency’s outreach program.

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