The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the primary federal agency responsible for workplace SAFETY AND HEALTH. Created under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970) to be part of the DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, OSHA’s mission is to prevent injuries, protect workers, and save lives. OSHA operates in 24 states, while 26 states have state-run OSHA offices. OSHA and its state partners employ over 2,400 inspectors nationwide, in addition to discrimination investigators, engineers, educators, physicians, standards writers, and other technical and support personnel working in 200 offices around the country. In 2001 combined state and federal OSHA personnel conducted more than 90,000 inspections. Almost every worker is covered by OSHA regulations. Exceptions include miners, transportation workers, and self-employed people. OSHA attempts to gain employee cooperation and MANAGEMENT commitment to comprehensive workplace safety and health programs. Among business managers and owners, OSHA rules and regulations are perceived as a burden, requiring significant time demands and massive amounts of paperwork. When industry leaders speak about reducing the “red tape” associated with doing business, they are often referring to OSHA regulations. As with any set of federal regulations, what seems appropriate in one setting may be cumbersome or even illogical in another setting. OSHA regulations are often criticized for their conflict with efficiency and even safety. Like many government regulatory agencies, OSHA was created because businesses were not addressing workplace problems and issues. OSHA regulations include penalties for noncompliance. Businesses can be fined for violations leading to worker injuries. Repeat violations increase both OSHA penalties and scrutiny of the offending firms. Employers with 11 or more employees must keep some type of record of on-thejob injuries and illnesses. Exceptions are given to employers in low-hazard industries such as service, retail, finance, INSURANCE, and real estate. OSHA violations are placed in one of five categories: willful, serious, repeat, failure to abate, and others. Willful violations, where a company intentionally and knowingly violates OSHA regulations, are subject to fines ranging from $5,000 to $70,000; violators can also be subject to criminal charges. Serious violations (68 percent of all 2001 violations were in this category) are conditions involving a substantial probability of death or serious injury. Repeat violations are violations of any standard or regulation for which a substantially similar violation is found upon reinspection. Failure to abate is simply failure to correct a situation.