What Year was OSHA Created?
The government agency OSHA was created in 1971 as a result of the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970. OSHA’s mission is to improve working conditions for the majority of the country’s workforce by setting and enforcing standards, and by providing training, education, and assistance to employers. Key milestones in OSHA’s history include:
- 1970: OSHA is established under the Nixon administration.
- 1971: OSHA’s first safety and health standards are adopted.
- 1972: OSHA starts its on-site consultation program.
- 1972: the first OSHA State Plans are approved.
- 1978: The Field Sanitation Standards are introduced.
- 1983: The Hazard Communication Standard is published.
- 2002: Exit Routes, Emergency Action Plans, and Fire Prevention Plans Standard.
- 2010: OSHA establishes the Severe Violator Enforcement Program to focus on employers who have demonstrated indifference to their OSH Act obligations.
- 2016: The Final Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses is published, requiring electronic submission of Form 300A.
The Background to OSHA
Although OSHA was created in 1971, it was not an entirely new department within the Department of Labor. The agency absorbed many of the functions of the former Bureau of Labor Standards, which had promoted industrial safety and health since 1922, and which was responsible for the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which set minimum wage and maximum hours standards nationwide.
Additionally, the agency did not have to start developing safety and health standards from scratch. Many industries already had federal safety and health regulations; and, where gaps existed for certain industries, many states had set up their own commissions and set their own state standards – several prior to the creation of the former Bureau of Labor Standards.
The Early Days of OSHA
When the first safety and health standards were published, they were no more than adaptations of standards already in place at organizations such as the American National Standards Institute and the National Fire Protection Administration. OSHA’s first original standard came sometime later and responded to a well-known health issue by limiting worker exposure to asbestos.
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Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, OSHA published hundreds of safety and health standards, plus standards that allowed employees to access toxic exposure records and standards that reduced occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens such as AIDS and Hepatitis B. The agency also extended its training and outreach programs and refined its inspection targeting system.
OSHA in the 21st Century
Since the turn of the century, OSHA has continued to publish new standards – or update existing standards – in response to evolving hazards to health and safety in the workplace. The agency’s Training Institute, Voluntary Protection, and On-Site Training programs have grown and a new Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program recognizes businesses with exemplary safety and health programs that result in fewer days lost to injury and illness than the national average.
With regards to OSHA inspections and enforcement actions, the agency conducts more than 30,000 inspections each year – the majority attributable to worker complaints, injuries and fatalities, and referrals from state and federal agencies. Enforcement actions that result in a financial penalty of $40,000 or above are now listed on the agency’s website and the maximum amount OSHA can issue as a fine is now increased annually. The maximum fine for 2024 is $161,323 per violation.
What Year Was OSHA Created? Conclusion
Businesses covered by OSHA should not be concerned about what year was OSHA created and why, but rather how they can comply with the standards that apply to their activities now. To help better understand safety and health compliance obligations, we have compiled an OSHA compliance checklist which officers with responsibility for workplace safety and health are invited to review. Thereafter, if questions remain about what standards apply or how best to comply with them, it is advisable to seek professional compliance advice.
