Voluntary Protection Programs

A House bill would make OSHA’s Voluntary Protections Program a permanent fixture within the agency. Should it be? Stakeholders debate the merits of codifying the program in the face of recent criticisms.

Falls Church, VA – Virginia will become the first state in the nation to codify the Voluntary Protection Programs so that it becomes a permanent fixture of the state's workplace safety program, once recently approved legislation is enacted July 1.

Washington – The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General is currently conducting audits of three OSHA programs, with two other audits planned, OIG stated in its semiannual report to Congress.

Washington – OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs would become a permanent fixture, under bipartisan legislation introduced May 21 in the House.

Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez tells congressional critics that OSHA must strike a balance between compliance assistance and enforcement.

Washington – Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez voiced his support for OSHA cooperative programs, as well as the need to increase the agency’s penalty limits, during a March 18 House hearing on the Department of Labor’s budget request for fiscal year 2016.

Washington – OSHA lacks sufficient controls to ensure worksites in the Voluntary Protection Programs maintain “exemplary occupational safety and health systems,” according to a Dec. 16 report from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.