Workplace Safety and Health Programs: Implementation, Effectiveness, and Benefit-Cost Trade-Offs

In 1998, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began developing a standard that would have required all workplaces to establish a safety and health program. By 1999, it had abandoned its rulemaking process, partly due to intense criticism of the proposed standard. This report assesses the standard and studies of its potential effects, concluding with recommendations should federal or state authorities revisit the initiative.