OSHA Updates Voluntary Protection, Recognition Programs 

OSHA has announced updates to its Voluntary Protection Program and other recognition programs to enhance safety and health management programs for all workplaces.  

Established in 1982, VPP is OSHA’s premier safety and health recognition program. 

“A lot has changed over the past four decades. Workplaces look different. Techniques for managing workplace safety and health have evolved,” OSHA acting assistant secretary Amanda Wood Laihow said in August.   

“So, it’s essential that OSHA’s approach to voluntary and recognition programs evolve as well.” 

Across the Department of Labor, OSHA is extending the use of voluntary tools that help employers proactively assess and improve compliance with the labor laws they enforce, she said, as well as expanding workplace protections through a new Safety Champions Program.  

The new Pathway to Safety and Health Success includes six steps to expand and improve workplace protections by: 

• Increasing OSHA outreach to more employers, especially small businesses 

• Reimagining the OSHA Challenge into a new, more robust Safety Champions Program that connects with volunteer safety and health professionals for advice and support 

• Expanding the use of Special Government Employees

• Incorporating leading indicators 

• Creating a new level of distinction – VPP Elite – for those sites that have not only achieved VPP status, but have maintained a level of excellence for more than 15 years 

• Expanding VPP Safety and Health Management Systems from four to seven elements 

More details are expected from OSHA in the coming months.