Worker Safety and Pending Enforcement Are Key Factors Influencing Participation

Industry associations as well as participating employers identified the opportunity to improve workplace safety and health and to prepare for or preempt an OSHA inspection as two incentives for participation in the Consultation Program. For example:   Maine’s promotion program. Funding Allocation Process Does Little to Encourage Goal Achievement

OSHA’s process for allocating federal funds to state consultation programs does not encourage these programs to make effective use of these funds. Recommendations for Executive Action

To strengthen OSHA’s ability to assess the Consultation Program’s progress toward key agency goals, we recommend that the Secretary of Labor direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to require state consultation programs to collect and forward to OSHA data on injuries and illnesses from employers participating in the Consultation Program at some period after the consultation is completed for use in analyzing whether there is a relationship between participation in the program and reductions in workplace injuries and illnesses and review reporting requirements with an eye toward eliminating indicators that no longer reflect the program while adding new ones that do. 1. 2.
Why GAO Did This Study

Several factors affect employers' decisions to participate in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) consultation program. GAO surveyed industry associations, employee representatives, and participating employers and found that the two main incentives for program participation are (1) making the employer's workplace safer and reducing worker injury and illness by promoting workplace safety and health and (2) preparing the employer's workplace for an OSHA inspection.

What GAO Found

The measurement system OSHA uses lacks enough data to separate the program outcomes from the outcomes of OSHA's other efforts to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. OSHA's process for allocating funds to the state consultation programs plays no role in encouraging participating states to achieve agency goals.