OSHA develops and  enforces federal safety and health standards under the OSH Act. In  addition, OSHA reviews, approves, and evaluates the plans and  operations of states that have chosen to operate their own occupational  safety and health programs. Monitoring of State-Run Programs

State-run occupational safety and health programs are monitored by  OSHA’s national office, its 10 regional offices and the regions’ area  offices. OSHA Lacks a Time Frame for Resuming Federal Enforcement in States with Performance Issues

OSHA regional officials consult with the national office when responding  to state-run programs with performance issues, according to OSHA  officials, and the agency may withdraw approval of a state-run program  and resume federal enforcement if a state fails to comply substantially  with any provision of its state plan. However, when states face  challenges in administering their programs, it can lead to performance  issues which, if not addressed in a timely manner, may persist and result  in inadequate safety and health protection for workers. Recommendations for Executive Action

To better assist states in ensuring they have sound occupational safety  and health programs, we recommend that the Secretary of Labor direct  the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to take steps  to help address challenges that have posed long-standing risks to states  with state-run occupational safety and health programs in training staff to  administer their programs. Finally, to better position the agency to respond to states facing  challenges, we also recommend that OSHA document lessons learned  from its experiences in assisting states with their enforcement  responsibilities and resuming federal enforcement of state-run programs.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is generally responsible for setting and enforcing occupational safety and health standards in the nation's workplaces. OSHA carries out enforcement directly in 34 states and territories, while the remaining 22 have chosen to administer their own enforcement programs (referred to as state-run programs) under plans approved by OSHA. GAO was asked to review issues related to state-run programs. This report examines (1) what challenges states face in administering their safety and health programs, and (2) how OSHA responds to state-run programs with performance issues. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations and OSHA policies; conducted a survey of 22 state-run programs; and interviewed officials in OSHA's national office, all 10 OSHA regions, and from a nongeneralizable sample of 5 state-run programs; and interviewed labor and business associations and safety and health experts.

What GAO Recommends

Congress should consider giving OSHA a mechanism to expedite assistance to states experiencing challenges. In addition, OSHA should take a number of actions, including facilitating access to training; establishing time frames for resuming enforcement if states do not address challenges in a timely manner; and documenting lessons from its past experiences in resuming federal enforcement of state-run programs. In response, OSHA agreed with the recommendations and said it will explore ways to implement them.