HomeGlossaryOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
U.S. Labor Department agency setting and enforcing workplace safety and health standards—exemplifying rule-based risk reduction.
OSHA issues permissible exposure limits, machine guarding rules, and record-keeping mandates; small businesses and unions debate stringency versus flexibility. Inspections and penalties aim to deter violations but cannot cover every site.
Economists study OSHA’s effects on injury rates, wages compensating for risk, and innovation in protective technology.
Regulatory state
Useful counterpart to consumer-safety and cost-benefit narratives in the rise of quantitative regulation.