• Home
• Workers
• Regulations
• Enforcement
• Data & Statistics
• Training
• Publications
• Newsroom
• Small Business

News Release USDL 98-28
Monday, January 26, 1998
Contact: Stephen Gaskill (202) 219-6091
Michael Fluharty (202) 219-8151

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is extending the sign-up period for its new Cooperative Compliance Program (CCP), an innovative targeted enforcement initiative aimed at helping employers find and fix workplace hazards. The new date by which invited employers must notify OSHA of their participation is Feb. 17, 1998; previously the sign-up period ended Jan. 30, 1998.

Several reasons contribute to the extention: this month's ice storms in the Northeast slowed that region's outreach effort, and a greater than anticipated turnout at OSHA's outreach sessions across the country slowed the agency's response to questions in some cases. For instance, some areas reported four times the number of expected potential participants attending the sessions OSHA conducted to explain the program.

Potential participants must notify OSHA by mail whether they choose to participate in the program. Acceptance letters must be postmarked by February 17.

The Cooperative Compliance Program is a major part of OSHA's strategy to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. Under the program, worksites already on OSHA's primary inspection list are removed from that list if they partner with OSHA to find and fix hazards and implement workplace safety and health programs. More than 12,000 worksites across the country with the highest injury and illness rates have been invited to join CCP; invited worksites have at least two times the national average of injuries and illnesses.

The prototype of the CCP, called the Maine 200, won the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation and the Hammer Award from Vice President Gore's National Performance Review, among other honors.