August 3, 2009

This memorandum delineates actions you will implement for improving OSHA's administration of the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). These actions are in response to the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) recently released report on the VPP. The report identified weaknesses in OSHA's VPP operations and made recommendations for the Agency to take steps to improve its policies, procedures, and oversight activities.

It is incumbent on all of us to put into practice the VPP principle of continuous improvement. One way we must do this is by addressing GAO's recommendations. Accordingly, the Agency has initiated a careful review of how it implements VPP in the Regions and the National Office, with a focus on ensuring consistent, high-quality administration and conformance with the VPP Policies and Procedures Manual, CSP 03-01-003, April 18, 2008 and the VPP Federal Register Notice, 74 FR 927, January 9, 2009. Based on this review, the Regions and National Office shall implement various actions as follows:

• Attachment 1 addresses improvements to Regional administration of the VPP that relate to GAO recommendations and fall within current VPP policy and procedure. The specified actions shall be implemented within 30 days of the date of this memorandum unless otherwise specified.
   
• Attachment 2 addresses improvements the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP) will implement in coordination with other Directorates. The specified actions shall be implemented within 45 days of the date of this memorandum unless otherwise specified.
   
• Attachment 3 provides a summary, in table format, of Regional and National Office actions.

The VPP Policies and Procedures Manual will be revised to reflect all changes included in this memorandum. If you have any comments or questions, please contact the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, Office of Partnerships and Recognition.