What Are an Employer's Basic Responsibilities Under OSHA?

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers covered by the law must provide a workplace free of known health and safety hazards and comply with OSHA standards. In practice that means five recurring duties: find and fix hazards, follow the standards that apply to your work, train workers in a language they understand, keep required injury and illness records, and report deaths and certain severe injuries to OSHA within set timeframes. Small employers can get free, confidential help through OSHA's On-Site Consultation program rather than figuring it out alone.

Provide a workplace free of known hazards

This is the general duty at the center of employer obligations. It applies even when no specific standard covers a particular hazard: if the hazard is known in your industry and could harm workers, you are expected to address it.

The practical loop is:

1. Identify hazards — walk the site, review injury logs, and check how tasks are actually performed.
2. Eliminate or control them — remove the hazard if possible; otherwise use engineering controls, then safe work practices, then personal protective equipment as the last layer.
3. Verify the fix — confirm the control works and does not create a new problem.

Comply with the standards that apply to you

OSHA standards are organized by topic and industry, and not all of them apply to every workplace. Common categories include:

To find what applies to you, start from your industry and the tasks your workers perform, then check the standards for those tasks. OSHA's site lets you browse standards by topic and by industry.

Train workers and communicate hazards

Training is not a one-time event. Employers must train workers so they understand the hazards they face and the controls in place, in a language and at a literacy level they understand. Requirements vary by standard — some specify initial training, some require refresher training, and some require retraining when conditions change.

Two related duties often sit alongside training:

• Hazard communication — inform workers about chemical hazards and how to protect themselves.
• Access to information — make sure workers can see relevant records, such as exposure and medical records, when required.

Keep records and report serious incidents

Recordkeeping and reporting are separate obligations, and both have deadlines.

• Recording injuries and illnesses — many employers must keep a log of work-related injuries and illnesses, with exceptions for certain small employers and low-hazard industries. Check whether your establishment is partially exempt before assuming you are covered.
• Reporting to OSHA — employers must report a work-related fatality within 8 hours and a work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. These reports go to OSHA directly, not just into your internal log.

Where small businesses can get help

OSHA's On-Site Consultation program provides free, confidential advice from state-run services, with priority for smaller businesses. A consultant can visit your site, help you identify hazards, and suggest ways to comply — and in most cases the visit does not trigger an enforcement inspection as long as you meet the program's conditions.

Other starting points on osha.gov include:

• Safe + Sound Week — OSHA promotes this annual event with bilingual materials and activities to help employers launch or strengthen a safety and health program.
• Compliance assistance resources — guidance documents, fact sheets, and eTools organized by topic.
• Training resources — including the OSHA Training Institute Education Centers for more formal coursework.

A quick way to check yourself

If you are unsure whether you are meeting your obligations, run through these questions:

• Do I know which standards apply to my industry and tasks?
• Have I identified the hazards my workers actually face, and controlled them?
• Has every worker been trained on those hazards in a language they understand?
• Am I required to keep injury and illness records, and am I doing it correctly?
• Do I know the 8-hour and 24-hour reporting rules for fatalities and severe injuries?

Any "no" points to a gap worth closing — and for smaller employers, the free consultation program is often the fastest route to finding out what you missed.