December 12, 2001—The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently entered into a partnership with the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) and the Department of Labor’s Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) to help small businesses improve their safety and health performance.
In keeping with OSHA’s shift in emphasis of regulatory programs from after-the-fact enforcement to compliance assistance and prevention, the partnership establishes a comprehensive effort to improve the safety and health performance of small businesses that receive outreach and training services. The agreement also aims to increase small business participation in OSHA technical assistance and cooperative programs.
The partners will identify interested small businesses that wish to learn more about safety and health, need assistance with program development, or wish to be recognized through OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) or the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) which is designed for small businesses that undergo free comprehensive safety and health consultation. To read the new agreement, visit OSHA.
