Occupational Safety and Health: Worksite Safety and Health Programs Show Promise: Hrd-92-68

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated whether all employers should be required to implement comprehensive safety and health programs as a means of identifying and correcting work-site safety and health problems. GAO found that (1) according to available information, which is not conclusive, comprehensive safety and health programs can positively affect work-place safety and health; (2) doubts about requiring employers to enact such programs mainly involve implementation issues; (3) although many potential implementation problems can be overcome, there is the possibility of certain employers with various work-force sizes and various industries having problems with implementation; (4) there are only limited statistical data regarding the potential burden and impact of required safety and health programs; and (5) a preferred approach could be to place safety and health program requirements on high-risk employers, which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) could identify.