Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act in 1970 to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for every worker in the nation. OSHA has responsibility for enforcing the provisions of the act, including overseeing most worksites, with the exception of some small employers in low-hazard industries and small farming operations. OSHA has direct enforcement responsibility for about half the states; the remainder have been granted authority for their own enforcement. At present, 22 states have been approved by OSHA to operate their own programs covering all worksites; 4 are approved for covering public sector employee worksites only; and OSHA directly oversees all worksites in the remaining states. OSHA uses two approaches to ensure compliance with federal safety and health laws and regulations—enforcement and voluntary compliance. Enforcement, which represents the preponderance of agency activity, is carried out primarily by using compliance officers to inspect employer worksites. Worksites and employers whose conditions fail to meet federal safety and health standards face sanctions, such as paying penalties for violations of health and safety standards. In this enforcement capacity, OSHA targets employers for inspection using injury and illness rates for industries and specific worksites. For example, it has targeted the construction industry for inspections because of high injury and illness rates. OSHA also conducts inspections when employers report fatalities or serious injuries and when workers file complaints about serious safety and health hazards. The voluntary compliance approach, in contrast, invites employers to collaborate with the agency and uses a variety of incentives to encourage them to reduce hazards and institute practices that will foster safer and healthier working conditions. Such incentives include free consultations, exemption from routine inspections, and recognition for exemplary safety and health systems. To participate in voluntary compliance programs, employers must also meet certain requirements, which often include the adoption of some form of safety and health management program—a program that takes a systems approach to preventing and controlling workplace hazards. OSHA has four basic requirements for a safety and health management program: (1) Management Leadership and Employee Involvement—Top-level management must be committed to carrying out written comprehensive safety and health programs. Employees must be actively involved in the execution of the program. (2) Worksite Analysis—Employers must have a thorough understanding of all hazardous situations to which employees may be exposed, as well as the ability to recognize and correct these hazards. (3) Hazard Prevention and Controls—The program must have clear procedures for preventing and controlling hazards identified through worksite analysis, such as a hazard tracking system and a written system for monitoring and maintaining workplace equipment. (4) Safety and Health Training—Training is necessary to reinforce and complement management’s commitment to safety and health and to ensure that all employees understand how to avoid exposure to hazards. To keep pace with the increasing demands on OSHA staff to help administer and promote voluntary compliance programs, in 2001 OSHA created the new position of “compliance assistance specialist.” According to OSHA officials, funding for this position was authorized in fiscal year 2002. Compliance assistance specialists provide general information about OSHA standards and promote voluntary compliance programs, as well as OSHA’s compliance assistance resources, such as training and Web site resources. They also respond to requests for help from a variety of groups and participate in numerous seminars, workshops, and speaking events. Most specialists are former OSHA compliance officers who conducted inspections of employers’ worksites. In their new positions, the specialists are not involved in OSHA’s enforcement activities. There is one Compliance Assistant Specialist position in each OSHA area office in states under federal jurisdiction, with a total of 65 in fiscal year 2003. OSHA’s strategic management plan identifies particular safety and health problems and industries on which to focus the agency’s efforts. In its current 5-year plan for years 2003 through 2008, one of the agency’s three goals is to promote a safety and health culture through compliance assistance, cooperative programs, and strong leadership. This goal includes increasing the number of participants in voluntary compliance programs and improving the programs’ effectiveness. Another goal is to reduce occupational hazards by, for example, reducing the rate of workplace injuries and illnesses by 5 percent annually. OSHA’s third goal focuses on strengthening the agency’s capabilities and infrastructure, including improving the agency’s access to accurate, timely data, and enhancing its measures for assessing the effectiveness of its programs. OSHA’s voluntary compliance strategies—four programs plus compliance assistance activities such as education and outreach—have expanded the agency’s reach to a growing number of employers. The agency’s four programs reach a range of employers and use a mix of strategies. They target both exemplary worksites and hazardous ones, and they influence employers directly by implementing safety and health programs and indirectly through collaboration with trade and professional associations. Some programs offer employers incentives to participate, such as a reduced chance of on-site inspection or special recognition for safety and health programs. Two of the programs were officially introduced in the last decade, adding to the number of participants engaged in voluntary compliance. OSHA plans to dramatically increase the number of employers and organizations participating in voluntary compliance programs. However, OSHA officials expressed concerns that such plans for expansion could tax the agency’s limited resources. OSHA’s voluntary compliance programs have been implemented incrementally to reach different employers and worksites in various ways. They represent a mix of strategies to help improve workplace conditions (see table 1). In addition to these formal programs, OSHA conducts other compliance assistance activities, such as outreach and training activities, to aid employers in complying with OSHA standards and to educate employers on what constitutes a safe and healthy work environment. The State Consultation Program, begun in 1975, operates in every state. Its primary focus is to help small businesses employed in high-hazard industries comply with OSHA standards and address their methods for dealing with worksite safety. The agency funds all state governments to carry out the program. In fiscal year 2003, OSHA provided $53 million to state governments. States provide free consultation visits at employers’ requests to identify safety and health hazards and discuss techniques for their abatement. In fiscal year 2003, state agents conducted about 28,900 consultation visits. The names of employers receiving consultation visits are kept confidential and separate from OSHA enforcement officials. Depending on an employer’s request, a state consultant may conduct a full safety and health hazard assessment of all working conditions, equipment, and processes at the worksite, or he or she may focus solely on one particular hazard or work process. Employers receive a detailed written report of the consultation findings and agree upon a time frame for eliminating the hazards. Small employers receiving consultation visits may qualify for recognition in the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), which exempts them from general, scheduled inspections for 1 or 2 years as models for good safety and health practices. Participants in SHARP must have safety and health programs, which are management programs, in place to prevent and control occupational hazards. In fiscal year 2003, there were 699 SHARP worksites in both federal OSHA states and state- plan states. Although SHARP worksites are exempt from scheduled inspections, they are still subject to inspections resulting from employee complaints and other serious safety and health problems, such as fatalities. The Voluntary Protection Programs, established in 1982, are designed to recognize single worksites with exemplary safety and health programs. As of September 30, 2003, there were a total of 1,024 VPP worksites in both federal OSHA and state-plan states. The manufacturing and chemical industries comprise 21 percent and 20 percent of these recognized worksites, respectively (see fig. 2). The majority of VPP worksites in federal OSHA states have more than 200 employees (see fig. 3). While the VPP does not specifically target large businesses, they tend to be the businesses that attain VPP status. According to an OSHA official, this trend is due to the fact that large businesses tend to have staff and expertise available for a comprehensive safety and health program. To participate in VPP, employers must have worksites that exceed OSHA standards and they must commit to a process of continual improvement. Employers achieving all VPP requirements are designated as Star VPP worksites, which signifies the highest level of workplace safety and health. As of September 30, 2003, 92 percent of all VPP worksites in federal OSHA states have Star designation. To be eligible for this exemplary status, employers must meet a number of specific requirements for their worksite: (1) worksite injury and illness rates must be below the average rate for their industry sector for at least 1 of the 3 most recent years; (2) a safety and health program must have been implemented and maintained for at least 1 year; and (3) worksites must undergo and pass a comprehensive review by OSHA personnel, including an on-site review of the facility and interviews with management officials and employees. In exchange for OSHA recognition, VPP worksites are exempt from scheduled enforcement inspections. However, VPP worksites are still subject to inspections resulting from employee complaints and other significant events, such as fatalities. To attract additional VPP worksites and expand the overall program, OSHA has recently announced three new VPP initiatives: VPP Challenge: a program that will serve as a roadmap to help employers, particularly small employers, achieve VPP status regardless of their current level of safety and health. VPP Corporate: a program that offers a more streamlined application process for corporations that already have worksites in VPP and want to bring additional worksites into the program. VPP Construction: a program that builds on information learned at previous VPP demonstration worksites and is designed to make it easier for construction worksites, particularly temporary worksites, to apply for and attain VPP status by, for example, reducing the amount of time that safety and health improvements must be in place.