OSHA re-evaluating Voluntary Protection Program

More evidence of OSHA’s new increased emphasis on enforcement, as opposed to voluntary programs, came recently when it announced that it would re-evaluate its Voluntary Protection Programs in light of a critical report by the General Accounting Office.

The agency said it would address problems in VPP identified by the GAO, which said that more oversight of the program was needed, along with additional controls. OSHA also said it would evaluate the VPP and Alliance programs ”to determine how the agency should best allocate its resources among cooperative programs, enforcement and the agency’s other activities.”

More information about the agency’s response to the VPP report can be found in an agency statement.