OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is the federal agency that sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Employers must keep workplaces free of recognized hazards, follow OSHA standards, and record and report serious injuries.
Key takeaways
- The general duty clause requires a workplace free of recognized serious hazards, even without a specific standard.
- Employers must report a fatality within 8 hours and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss within 24 hours.
- Most employers with more than 10 employees keep injury logs on OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301.
- About half the states run their own OSHA-approved plans.
How OSHA works
OSHA covers most private employers and their workers, either directly or through state plans (OSHA, About OSHA). Employers must follow industry standards, such as rules for fall protection, machine guarding, hazard communication, and respiratory protection, and provide training in a language workers understand.
Recordkeeping is one of the biggest ongoing tasks. Covered employers record work-related injuries and illnesses that meet OSHA criteria on the Form 300 log, complete a Form 301 incident report for each, and post the Form 300A annual summary from February 1 to April 30. Employers with 20 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries also submit data electronically.
OSHA inspections are triggered by complaints, referrals, severe incidents, and targeted programs. Citations can bring penalties of more than $16,000 per serious violation and far more for willful or repeated violations, adjusted for inflation each year.
OSHA example
A food processing plant worker loses a fingertip in a slicer. The plant must report the amputation to OSHA within 24 hours, record it on the Form 300 log, and complete a Form 301 within seven days. OSHA may inspect the line. If the investigation finds the machine guard had been removed to speed production, the plant faces a serious or willful citation, workers' compensation costs, and lost production during repairs.
Why OSHA matters for employers
Injury rates have improved but remain significant. BLS counted 2.5 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry in 2024, a rate of 2.3 per 100 full-time workers (BLS, workplace injuries and illnesses in 2024), and 5,070 fatal work injuries (BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2024). Each incident affects a person, a team, and the company's workers' comp costs.
Safety is also an HR issue. Retaliating against an employee for raising a safety concern is illegal, and employees have 30 days to file a whistleblower complaint with OSHA. Use our safety incident follow-up email to document next steps after an incident.
Common OSHA mistakes to avoid
Missing the reporting deadline
Fatalities within 8 hours, and hospitalizations, amputations, and eye losses within 24.
Not posting the 300A summary
It must be posted from February 1 to April 30 each year.
Discouraging injury reporting
Incentive programs that punish reporting can violate OSHA rules.
Training only in English
Training must be in a language and vocabulary workers understand.
OSHA: questions people also ask
What does OSHA stand for?
Which employers does OSHA cover?
What injuries must be reported to OSHA?
Do small businesses need OSHA logs?
Can an employee refuse unsafe work?
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HRTally glossary entries are written by people who have run US payroll, benefits, and HR operations, then checked line by line against primary sources such as the IRS, Department of Labor, EEOC, and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dollar limits and rates are for 2026 unless stated. We review every entry at least twice a year and whenever a rule changes. This page explains general rules and isn't legal or tax advice; state law can differ. Read our editorial standards.
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<blockquote>OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is the federal agency that sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Employers must keep workplaces free of recognized hazards, follow OSHA standards, and record and report serious injuries.</blockquote><p>Source: <a href="https://www.hrtally.com/hr-glossary/osha/">HRTally HR Glossary, OSHA</a></p>
Written by the HRTally Research Team
Our guides are written and reviewed by people with hands-on US HR, payroll, and HR technology experience. Legal and tax facts are checked against primary sources, such as the Department of Labor, IRS, EEOC, and USCIS, and linked at the end of each guide. Vendors never review or pay for our editorial content.