Release Number: 09-693-NAT
June 18, 2009
Contact: Diana Petterson
Phone: 202-693-1898

U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA begins evaluation of Voluntary Protection Programs

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced that it will address problems identified in its Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) in response to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs: Improved Oversight and Controls Would Better Ensure Program Quality. The report recommends improved oversight and additional controls to ensure participating companies maintain effective workplace safety and health management systems.

OSHA also has announced that it will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of its VPP and Alliance Program to determine how the agency should best allocate its resources among cooperative programs, enforcement and the agency’s other activities.

Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab said he agrees with recommendations made in the GAO report. GAO’s analysis recommended that OSHA strengthen the program’s oversight activity, documentation and other aspects of program operations and impact to ensure consistency and adherence to existing OSHA policies and procedures. VPP participation encompasses more than 2,200 worksites covering more than 800,000 workers.

“We will thoroughly review the VPP and Alliance Program to determine their effectiveness as well as review the programs’ roles in helping the agency promote the safety and health of America’s workers,” said Barab.

He noted that OSHA had not adequately addressed the findings of the GAO’s 2004 report, OSHA’s Voluntary Compliance Strategies Show Promising Results, But Should Be Fully Evaluated Before They Are Expanded. “The report noted that OSHA had not fully evaluated the effectiveness of its cooperative programs and was therefore ‘limited in its ability to make a sound decision about how best to allocate its resources,’” said Barab. “Our evaluation of these programs in the context of OSHA’s limited resources will help ensure that OSHA will be able to reprioritize these resources in the most effective manner.”

To address the most recent GAO report’s findings and recommendations about the VPP, OSHA will review and address problems including program management and oversight policies and procedures; documentation policy for actions taken in response to fatalities and serious injuries at VPP sites; and goals and performance measures for the VPP and internal OSHA controls that ensure consistent compliance with VPP policies by the agency’s regional offices.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Top Stories

In a speech given by Secretary of Labor Hida Solis for the National Workers Memorial at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 she made the following statements. “Under my watch, enforcement of our labor laws will be intensified to provide an effective deterrent to employers who put their workers’ lives at risk. OSHA and MSHA will be about workers — not voluntary programs and alliances.”

This statement was reiterated by the acting head of the OSHA Jordan Barab before a House panel Thursday April 30th that he has instructed staff to suspend a voluntary protection program launched under the Bush administration to free up resources for enforcement. His exact statement was “We need to better utilize the resources that we already have. In order to direct more of OSHA’s existing resources into enforcement and to provide time to address concerns in an upcoming GAO Report on the efficacy of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program, I have informed the field staff that we will suspend the previous administration’s practice of establishing goals for new Voluntary Protection Program sites and Alliances.” This has caused significant confusion for VPP sites and the safety and health community.