Occupational Safety and Health Plans by State

Author: Brightmine Editorial Team

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) is promoted and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which covers most employers either directly through OSHA or through an OSHA-approved State Plan. An OSHA-approved State Plan is an OSHA-approved job safety and health program operated by an individual state and must be at least as effective as the federal OSHA program.

The standards under a State Plan may differ from federal OSHA regulations, but they must be at least as effective as the federal standards. States have the option to establish additional standards covering safety and health hazards not addressed by federal standards.

Currently, there are 21 states with State Plans that cover private employers while five additional states have State Plans that only cover state and local government employees.

The following chart shows whether a state has an OSHA-approved State Plan.