Who is Covered

In general, OSHA coverage extends to all employers and their employees in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all other territories under federal government jurisdiction. Coverage is provided either directly by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or through an OSHA-approved state occupational safety and health program.

As defined by the Act, an employer is any “person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include the United States or any state or political subdivision of a State.”

The following may be exempted from certain requirements of the Act:

• employers with 10 or fewer employees;
• self-employed persons;
• farms at which only immediate members of the farmer’s family are employed;
• working conditions regulated by other federal agencies under other federal statues;
• employees of state and local governments (unless they are in one of the states with OSHA-approved safety and health programs).

The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires all private employers to maintain a workplace that is as safe and healthy for employees as is reasonably possible. Under the Act, two principal functions are assigned to OSHA: setting standards and conducting workplace inspections to ensure that employers are complying with the standards and providing a safe and healthful workplace. OSHA standards may require that employers adopt certain practices, means, methods or processes reasonably necessary to protect workers on the job. It is the responsibility of employers to become familiar with standards applicable to their establishments, to eliminate hazardous conditions to the extent possible, and to comply with the standards. Compliance may include ensuring that employees have and use personal protective equipment when required for safety or health. Employees must comply with all rules and regulations that are applicable to their own actions and conduct.

The federal OSHA standards set specific workplace safety standards for four major categories of work: general industry, construction, maritime – shipyards, marine terminals, longshoring, and agriculture. Each of these four categories of standards imposes requirements that are targeted to that industry, although in some cases they are identical across industries. For instance, the standards that impose similar requirements on all industry sectors are those for access to medical and exposure records, personal protective equipment, and hazard communication. Even in areas where OSHA has not designed a standard addressing a specific hazard, employers are responsible for complying with OSHA’s “general duty” clause. The general duty clause of the Act states that each employer “shall furnish a place of employment, which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his or her employees.” In general, all employers (except those in the construction industry) should be aware that any hazard not covered by an industry-specific standard may be covered by a general industry standard; in addition, all employers must keep their workplaces free of recognized hazards that may cause death or serious physical harm to employees, even if OSHA does not have a specific standard or requirement addressing the hazard.

States with OSHA-approved job safety and health programs must set standards that are at least as effective as the equivalent federal standard. Most state plans adopt standards applicable to the federal ones and may be more specific to the particular state’s needs.