OSHA Launches Safety Champions Program

On January 20, 2026, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched the Safety Champions Program (the “Program”), a brand new voluntary cooperative program designed to assist employers develop and implement security and well being applications. The Program displays OSHA’s acknowledged effort to take a extra collaborative strategy to office security, transferring past purely enforcement-driven engagement with employers. The Program is distinct from OSHA’s present Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and, with cautious consideration, could current a possibility for employers to strengthen their security and well being practices with help from OSHA. 

Key takeaway

The Program supplies a progressive, step-based framework for employers to construct or enhance their office security and well being applications round seven core components recognized in OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs. Employers could take part independently or request assist from OSHA-assigned Special Government Employees (SGEs) who can evaluation program documentation, present suggestions, and reply questions. Even employers who consider they have already got sturdy security applications could profit from utilizing this system framework as an inner audit instrument to guage present security and well being procedures in opposition to OSHA’s really useful practices. Participation has no impression on any OSHA enforcement exercise or willpower. 

The Safety Champions Program Structure

The Program options three progressive steps: Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced, every constructing on the prior step. At every step, employers are anticipated to attain particular targets and full outlined actions throughout seven components OSHA believes are essential to a profitable security and well being tradition: (1) administration management; (2) employee participation; (3) hazard identification and evaluation; (4) hazard prevention and management; (5) schooling and coaching; (6) program analysis and enchancment; and (7) communication and coordination for host employers, contractors, and staffing businesses. Participants use a Safety Champions Tracker to watch their progress by way of every Step. Notably, members should proceed assembly standards from beforehand accomplished Steps as they progress by way of this system.

Below is a abstract of what OSHA expects employers to perform throughout every step in this system.

• Introductory step – Employers concentrate on foundational actions like creating written security and well being insurance policies, establishing security committees, creating preliminary hazard inventories, and constructing coaching plans. 

• Intermediate step – Employers implement the applications developed within the Introductory step, enhance employee involvement, conduct common hazard inspections not less than semi-annually, and supply refresher coaching. 

• Advanced step – Employers are anticipated to exhibit mature, totally built-in security and well being applications with steady enchancment processes, routine self-inspections not less than month-to-month, and annual pattern analyses of security and well being information.

Role of Special Government Employees

Participants can work by way of this system independently or with the help of an SGE assigned by OSHA. SGEs could evaluation security and well being program documentation, present suggestions on progress, and reply questions on an as-needed foundation. When a participant believes it has accomplished all actions inside a step, OSHA will assign an SGE to conduct a proper evaluation. The SGE could then suggest the participant for step completion or determine areas the place additional progress is required.

Implications for Employers

Though employers could view the Program with a wholesome dose of skepticism, the Program represents a shift in OSHA’s posture towards employer engagement. Employers ought to contemplate whether or not participation, and even casual use of the Program framework as a self-assessment benchmark, may assist enhance their security and well being program efficiency and compliance posture. The structured, step-based strategy could also be significantly helpful for organizations seeking to formalize security practices, have interaction employees in security initiatives, and construct a documented observe file of steady enchancment. Also, due to the Program’s step-by-step strategy, employers ought to take part within the Program provided that they’re centered on steady enchancment of their security and well being applications.

The Program operates individually from OSHA’s enforcement actions, and OSHA has made clear that participation has no impression on any enforcement exercise or willpower. Though a robust security program could cut back the chance of office incidents which will set off an inspection, employers mustn’t take part within the Program with the expectation that it’s going to defend the employer from an OSHA inspection or citations. 

Additional sources on the Safety Champions Program can be found on OSHA’s devoted webpage.

This article was co-authored by Reed Smith associate, Adam Roseman.