OSHA

Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has accomplished more than may often be acknowledged during its fairly short history, its current approaches to regulating safety and health are in some cases dated and frustrating for both workers and employers. What is needed, according to employer and employee representatives GAO spoke with, is a greater service orientation. This means better communication with business and labor, greater employer and worker accessibility to compliance information, and more cooperation with both business and labor throughout the regulatory process. By developing alternative regulatory strategies that supplement and in some instance substitute for its often confrontational and labor-intensive enforcement approach, OSHA may be able to carry out its statutory responsibilities in a more effective manner. To its credit, OSHA has begun to change its enforcement approach, although it may be too early to assess any effects.