OSHA's Mission
With the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and
women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and
assistance.
Organization
OSHA is part of the United States Department of Labor. The administrator for OSHA is the Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. OSHA's administrator answers to the
Secretary of Labor, who is a member of the cabinet of the President of the United States.
OSHA Coverage
The OSH Act covers employers and their employees either directly through federal OSHA or through
an OSHA-approved state program. State programs must meet or exceed federal OSHA standards for
workplace safety and health.
Federal OSHA coverage
Federal OSHA is a small agency; with our state partners we have approximately 2,200 inspectors
responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers, employed at more than 8 million
worksites around the nation — which translates to about one compliance officer for every 59,000
workers. Federal OSHA has 10 regional offices and 90 local area offices.
Worker Injuries, illnesses and fatalities
4,609 workers were killed on the job in 2011 (3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) — almost
90 a week or nearly 13 deaths every day. (This is a slight increase from the 4,551, fatal work injuries
in 2009, but the second lowest annual total since the fatal injury census was first conducted in 1992).
729 Hispanic or Latino workers were killed from work-related injuries in 2011 — more than 14 deaths
a week or two Latino workers killed every single day of the year, all year long.
"Every day in America, 13 people go to work and never come home. Every year in America, nearly 4
million people suffer a workplace injury from which some may never recover. These are preventable
tragedies that disable our workers, devastate our families, and damage our economy. American
workers are not looking for a handout or a free lunch. They are looking for a good day's pay for a
hard day's work. They just want to go to work, provide for their families, and get home in one piece."
– Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Workers Memorial Day speech April 26, 2012
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