General information only — not legal advice.

What Does OSHA Do? In Plain Words

OSHA is short for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This page explains what OSHA is and what it does, in plain words. Every fact below comes from the OSHA sources listed at the bottom of this page.

Short answer

OSHA is the federal agency for workplace safety and health. It is part of the United States Department of Labor. OSHA says its mission is to ensure America's workers have safe and healthful working conditions free from unlawful retaliation. OSHA carries out that mission by setting and enforcing standards, enforcing anti-retaliation provisions, providing and supporting training, outreach, education, and assistance, and working with its state OSHA programs.

What is OSHA?

The “About OSHA” page says: “OSHA is part of the United States Department of Labor.” It also says the administrator for OSHA is the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, and that OSHA's administrator answers to the Secretary of Labor, who is a member of the cabinet of the President of the United States.

The OSHA booklet All About OSHA says: “On December 29, 1970, President Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) into law, establishing OSHA.”

The same booklet also says: “In 1970, the United States Congress and President Richard Nixon created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).”

The OSHA “At a Glance” sheet says the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) was passed to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work, and that this law created OSHA, which sets and enforces protective workplace safety and health standards and also provides information, training, and assistance to employers and workers.

What does OSHA do?

The “About OSHA” page states OSHA's mission this way: “OSHA's mission is to ensure America's workers have safe and healthful working conditions free from unlawful retaliation. OSHA carries out its mission by setting and enforcing standards; enforcing anti-retaliation provisions of the OSH Act and other federal whistleblower laws; providing and supporting training, outreach, education, and assistance; and working collaboratively with our state OSHA programs as well as ensuring that they are at least as effective as federal OSHA, furthering a national system of worker safety and health protections.”

All About OSHA states the mission in shorter words: “Congress created OSHA to assure safe and healthful conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education and compliance assistance.”

The “At a Glance” sheet describes OSHA standards this way: “OSHA standards are rules that describe the methods employers are legally required to follow to protect their workers from hazards.” It says Construction, General Industry, Maritime, and Agriculture standards protect workers from a wide range of serious hazards.

The “At a Glance” sheet also says employers must comply with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act. In its words, that clause “requires employers to keep their workplaces free of serious recognized hazards and is generally cited when no specific OSHA standard applies to the hazard.”

Inspections

The “At a Glance” sheet says inspections are initiated without advance notice, are conducted using on-site or telephone and facsimile investigations, are performed by highly trained compliance officers, and are based on these priorities:

All About OSHA gives the same list of priorities, in this order: imminent danger; catastrophes — fatalities or hospitalizations; worker complaints and referrals; targeted inspections — particular hazards, high injury rates; and follow-up inspections.

The “At a Glance” sheet says: “When an inspector finds violations of OSHA standards or serious hazards, OSHA may issue citations and fines. A citation includes methods an employer may use to fix a problem and the date by when the corrective actions must be completed.” This page prints no fine amounts, because the sources read in full for this page print no fine amounts in that passage.

The “At a Glance” sheet also says employers have the right to contest any part of the citation, including whether a violation actually exists, and that workers only have the right to challenge the deadline for when a problem must be resolved. It says appeals of citations are heard by the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Who does OSHA cover?

The “About OSHA” page says: “The OSH Act covers most private sector employers and their workers, in addition to some public sector employers and workers in the 50 states and certain territories and jurisdictions under federal authority. Those jurisdictions include the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, Johnston Island, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.”

The “At a Glance” sheet says: “OSHA covers most private sector employers and workers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions either directly through Federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state program.” It also says: “State-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective as the Federal OSHA program.”

For state and local government workers, the “At a Glance” sheet says: “State and local government workers are not covered by Federal OSHA, but they do have protections in states that operate their own programs.”

All About OSHA says the same point this way: “Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by Federal OSHA, but are afforded OSH Act protections if they work in those states that have an OSHA-approved State Plan.”

For federal government workers, the “At a Glance” sheet says: “OSHA's protection applies to all federal agencies. Although OSHA does not fine federal agencies, it does monitor federal agencies and responds to workers' complaints.”

Who is not covered by the OSH Act?

The “At a Glance” sheet lists this heading: “Not Covered by the OSH Act.” Under it, it lists:

All About OSHA lists “Not Covered under the OSH Act” this way:

State Plans

OSHA's State Plans page says: “State Plans are OSHA-approved workplace safety and health programs operated by individual states or U.S. territories.”

That same page gives these counts: “There are currently 22 State Plans covering both private sector and state and local government workers, and seven State Plans covering only state and local government workers.”

That same page also says: “State Plans are monitored by OSHA and must be at least as effective as OSHA in protecting workers and in preventing work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths.”

This page names no individual State Plan and gives no state-by-state details.

What must employers do?

The “At a Glance” sheet says: “Under the OSH Act, employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace.”

All About OSHA says: “Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. Employers MUST provide their workers with a workplace that does not have serious hazards and must follow all OSHA safety and health standards. Employers must find and correct safety and health problems.”

All About OSHA also lists, among the things employers must do:

The booklet adds a note on the personal protective equipment point: employers must pay for most types of required personal protective equipment.

What rights do workers have?

OSHA's Worker Rights and Protections page says: “Federal law gives you the right to work in a safe place. Your employer must keep the workplace free from known safety and health hazards. You can speak up or report safety concerns without being punished or treated unfairly.”

That page then says: “You also have the right to:”

All About OSHA states the starting point this way: “Under OSHA law, workers are entitled to working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm.” Its list of worker rights includes the right to file a confidential complaint with OSHA to have the workplace inspected, to receive information and training about hazards in a language and vocabulary workers can understand, to receive copies of records of work-related injuries and illnesses, to receive copies of results from tests and monitoring done to find and measure hazards, to receive copies of workplace medical records, to participate in an OSHA inspection and speak in private with the inspector, and to file a complaint with OSHA if retaliated against for requesting an inspection or using other rights under the OSH Act.

Protection from retaliation

The Worker Rights and Protections page says: “It is illegal for an employer to fire, demote, transfer, or otherwise retaliate against a worker for complaining to OSHA.”

The File a Complaint page says workers have the right to report injuries, safety issues, and actions taken against them for speaking up, including being fired, demoted, or disciplined, and that employers must maintain a workplace free from retaliation for voicing concerns about hazards or violations of federal law.

All About OSHA says Section 11(c) of the OSH Act prohibits any person from discharging or in any manner retaliating against any worker for exercising rights under the OSH Act, and that those rights include raising safety and health concerns with an employer, reporting a work-related injury or illness, filing a complaint with OSHA, seeking an OSHA inspection, participating in an OSHA inspection, and participating or testifying in any proceeding related to an OSHA inspection.

How to file a safety and health complaint

The Worker Rights and Protections page says: “If you think your workplace is unsafe or unhealthy, you can file a confidential complaint with OSHA and ask them to inspect it. If you can, try telling your employer about the problem first. They may be able to fix it quickly.”

The File a Complaint page says: “You (or your representative) have the right to file a confidential safety and health complaint and request an OSHA inspection of your workplace if you believe there is a serious hazard or if you think your employer is not following OSHA standards. The complaint should be filed as soon as possible after noticing the hazard. A signed complaint is more likely to result in an onsite inspection.”

For a safety and health complaint, the File a Complaint page lists this telephone option: “Telephone — Call Your Local OSHA Office or 800-321-6742 (OSHA).” It adds: “OSHA staff can discuss your complaint with you and respond to any questions you may have.”

All About OSHA describes filing this way: “Workers or their representatives may file a complaint online or by phone, mail, email or fax with the nearest OSHA office and request an inspection. A worker may also ask OSHA not to reveal his or her name.” It also says written, signed complaints submitted to OSHA area offices are more likely to result in an on-site OSHA inspection, and that most online or unsigned complaints are resolved informally over the phone with the employer.

How to file a whistleblower (retaliation) complaint

The Worker Rights and Protections page says: “If you believe your employer retaliated against you for using your rights under OSHA's whistleblower protection laws, you can file a whistleblower complaint within 30 days of the retaliation.”

The File a Complaint page says: “You have the right to file a whistleblower complaint with OSHA if you believe your employer retaliated against you for exercising your rights as an employee under the whistleblower protection laws enforced by OSHA. In states with OSHA-approved State Plans, employees may file complaints with Federal OSHA and with the State Plan.”

For a whistleblower complaint, the File a Complaint page lists these options:

All About OSHA gives the deadline for a retaliation complaint under the OSH Act this way: a worker must file a retaliation complaint with OSHA within 30 calendar days from the date the retaliatory decision has been both made and communicated to the worker, and it says to contact OSHA within 30 days of the alleged retaliation at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

How employers report a fatality or severe injury

OSHA's “Report a Fatality or Severe Injury” page is about employer reports, not worker complaints. It says:

That page lists these ways to make a report:

That page also says: “Be prepared to supply: Business name; names of employees affected; location and time of the incident, brief description of the incident; contact person and phone number.”

Help OSHA offers employers and workers

The “At a Glance” sheet says OSHA offers free confidential advice, and that several programs and services help employers identify and correct job hazards as well as improve their injury and illness prevention programs.

For the free On-Site Consultation service, the “At a Glance” sheet says OSHA provides a free service, On-Site Consultation, for small businesses with fewer than 250 workers at a site (and no more than 500 employees nationwide), that On-site Consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations, and that the OSHA Consultation Office nearest you can be found at www.osha.gov/consultation or by calling 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

All About OSHA describes the same program this way: OSHA's On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and confidential advice to small and medium-sized businesses in all states, with priority given to high-hazard worksites, and on-site consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations.

The “At a Glance” sheet also says OSHA has compliance assistance specialists throughout the nation who can provide general information about OSHA standards and compliance assistance resources.

How to contact OSHA

The OSHA pages read in full for this page print this address: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20210.

Those same pages print these phone numbers: 1-800-321-OSHA and 1-800-321-6742.

The “At a Glance” sheet says: “For questions or to get information or advice, to report an emergency, report a fatality or catastrophe, order publications, sign up for OSHA's e-newsletter QuickTakes, or to file a confidential complaint, contact your nearest OSHA office, visit www.osha.gov or call OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), TTY 1-877-889-5627.”

Sources

All facts on this page come from these OSHA sources, read in full. Checked November 2026.

General information only — not legal advice.