The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is the main federal law that gives most workers in the US some basic rights at work. Workers have a right to a safe workplace –- work that does not make them hurt or sick. You usually can't sue your boss over hazards, you have to use health and safety laws and enforcement -- or pressure him by taking a stand with your co-workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (also called OSHA) has written rules on many specific hazards. OSHA takes complaints from workers and unions and inspects workplaces.

You have a right to:

  • a workplace with no recognized hazards
  • equipment that makes your job safe
  • get information about hazards and injuries
  • training on how to work safely
  • file an OSHA complaint
  • participate in an OSHA inspection of your workplace
  • protection from discrimination for using your OSHA rights

Get help in protecting your OSHA rights from:

  • OSHA
  • Occupational Safety and Health Groups
  • Your union, if you have one.

You have a right to a workplace with no recognized hazards. When your boss knows that something is dangerous, it must be fixed. You have a right to complain to your boss about unsafe conditions. If you don't report hazards and injuries, your boss can say he didn’t know about the danger.

You have a right to equipment which makes your job safer. You have to be given personal safety gear and the equipment you use should be as safe as possible. You should not have to pay for personal safety equipment (eye protection, helmets, chain gloves, etc).

You have a right to get information about:

  • injuries and illnesses that happened at work to co-workers or past employees
  • citations that OSHA issued to your employer for unsafe situations (it should be posted near the place of the violation)
  • your medical records
  • the results of any tests which have measured workers' exposure or hazards (like chemicals, noise, or radiation levels). You also have a right to watch the monitoring or testing as it is being done
  • chemicals used at work, including:
    • Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on any chemical at your work;
    • labels on every chemical, so you know exactly what they are;
    • training on the chemicals you work with, so you know how they can effect your health and how to protect yourself

You have a right to training about how to work safely. You must be trained on how the hazard (like chemicals or machines) can hurt you and how to make your work safer.

You have a right to file an OSHA complaint about unsafe working conditions or other violations of your OSHA rights. You can tell OSHA not to tell your employer your name. You can make a complaint by telephone, in writing, or over the internet. You also have a right to make a complaint to other government agencies, like the fire department.

You have a right to participate in an OSHA inspection of your workplace. When OSHA inspectors are at your workplace, you can point out hazards, answer questions honestly, or ask them questions. You can participate in the opening and closing conferences and in an inspection that happens because you filed a complaint.

You should not be discriminated against for protecting your health and safety. OSHA tries to protect workers when they are standing up for a safe workplace. OSHA also lets you file a complaint without giving your name to your boss, if you're worried about retaliation. You have to file a discrimination complaint with OSHA within 30 days if anything bad happens because you tried to make work safer. Examples of discrimination include if you are treated worse than other workers, have your pay or hours cut, or are assigned bad work or shifts.

It is illegal for your boss to retaliate or discriminate against you for using your OSHA rights. To show that your boss discriminated against you, you have to show that:

  • you were involved in an OSHA activity (filing a complaint, testifying, participating in an OSHA inspection, or talking with an investigator); AND that
  • your boss knew that you did it; AND that
  • because of what you did, your boss did something which made your work worse (like being transferred to a worse job or shift, having your pay or hours cut, being treated worse than other workers).
  • You have to file a retaliation complaint within 30 days of when your boss did it. This is one of the shortest times any agency gives a worker to file a complaint. It should be longer, so file quickly.