OIG Finds OSHA Wanting In Sweeping Audit of State Plan Monitoring

OSHA has not determined whether the 27 state OSHA plans under its purview have met the required standard of “at least as effective” as the federal program in improving worker safety and health, the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) found in a recent sweeping audit of OSHA’s monitoring of state plans. The audit report outlines a four-pronged approach to improving OSHA monitoring, with a key recommendation that OSHA needs to define its own standard of effectiveness and also establish a baseline by which the federal agency can evaluate state programs. Many of the findings mirro