Occupational Safety and Health Administration

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor which has as its mission to "assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health."

OSHA is one of four major US government agencies involved in environmental safety and health regulation, and therefore it was targeted for constant attack by the tobacco industry and other industry groups with poisoning and polluting problems.

During the Reagan Administration, the role of Director was given to Thorne Auchter, with the Presidential instructions to emasculate the agency and reverse many of the decisions made in the past. After numerous scandals, Auchter was forced to leave, and after being involved in another scandal as head of a Kansas building company, he joined forces with Jim Tozzi to run a series of think tanks and policy institutes, working almost exclusively for the tobacco industry.

Case studies

 * The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Tobacco

People
Accessed January 2011:
 * David Michaels, Ph.D., M.P.H., Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health
 * Jordan Barab, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health
 * Richard Fairfax, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health
 * Deborah Berkowitz, Chief of Staff, Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Contact details
Occupational Safety & Health Administration 200 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20210 Phone: 800-321-6742 Web: http://www.osha.gov