Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Labor Department agency charged with ensuring that employers furnish their employees with a working environment that is free from recognized health and safety hazards. OSHA develops and promulgates occupational safety and health standards; develops and issues regulations; conducts investigations and worksite inspections; and issues citations and proposes penalties for noncompliance with OSHA standards and regulations. The independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), one member of which is an administrative law judge, is charged with ruling on cases forwarded to it by the Department of Labor when disagreements arise over the results of safety and health inspections performed by OSHA.