Employee Information | OSHA

Employers are responsible for keeping employees informed about OSHA and about the various safety and health matters with which they are involved. Federal OSHA and states with their own occupational safety and health programs require that each employer post certain materials at a prominent location in the workplace. These include:

• "Job Safety and Health Protection" (OSHA 2203) or "It's the Law" (OSHA 3165) workplace poster or a state equivalent informing employees of their rights and responsibilities under the Act. Besides displaying the workplace poster, the employer must make copies of the Act and copies of relevant OSHA rules and regulations available to employees upon request.

• Summaries of petitions for variances from standards or recordkeeping procedures.

• Copies of all OSHA citations for violations of standards. These must remain posted at or near the location of alleged violations for three days, or until the violations are abated, whichever is longer.

• Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA 300A).

The 300A Summary must be posted no later than February 1 and remain in place until April 30. Many employers post it all year.

All employees have the right to examine any records kept by their employers regarding exposure to hazardous materials, or the results of medical surveillance. This is found in 29 CFR Part 1910.1020.

Occasionally, OSHA standards or NIOSH research activities will require an employer to measure and record employee exposure to potentially harmful substances. Employees have the right (in person or through their authorized representative) to be present during the measuring as well as to examine records of the results.

Under these substance-specific requirements each employee or former employee has the right to see his or her examination records, and must be told by the employer if exposure has exceeded the levels set by standards. The employee must also be told what corrective measures are being taken.

In addition to having access to records, employees in manufacturing facilities must be provided information about all of the hazardous chemicals in their work areas. Employers are to provide this information by means of labels on containers, material safety data sheets, and training programs.