OSHA's Monitoring and Evaluation of State Programs
Highlights
GAO discussed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) efforts to: (1) monitor and evaluate state-operated safety and health programs; and (2) resume enforcement within the private sector in California. GAO found that OSHA: (1) lacked effective monitoring and evaluation procedures; (2) relied primarily on its computerized management information system to assess state program quality; (3) did not provide for the collection and analysis of information that directly related to state program quality; and (4) did not establish performance levels or incentives for states to use in attaining occupational and health safety. GAO also found that: (1) diversion of its staff resources to provide enforcement in California hampered OSHA inspection efforts nationwide; (2) OSHA occupational safety and health standards were limited in scope compared with California standards; (3) the number of safety and health inspections OSHA performed in California decreased because it was unable to fill staff positions; and (4) in 1988, total funding for worker protection activities in California decreased from $33 million to $16 million.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration | OSHA should establish desired performance levels for use by state programs and consider providing incentives for states to attain them. |
GAO is closing out the older recommendations because they are being repeated in a more recent product.
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| Occupational Safety and Health Administration | OSHA should require that states establish quality assurance programs and then periodically review those efforts. |
GAO is closing out the older recommendation because it is being repeated in a more recent product.
|
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration | OSHA should work with states to help them evaluate their programs' impact on worker safety and health. |
GAO is closing out the older recommendation because it is being repeated in a more recent product.
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