By the time you read this, OSHA plans to have unveiled a national inspection targeting program model after the Maine 200 "cooperative compliance program" started in 1993.
OSHA has wanted to "nationalize" the pilot effort in Maine for several years. Identifying employers nationwide with poor safety records and offering them a choice between traditional inspections or voluntarily working to upgrade safety was a goal of former agency head Joe Dear. But the targeting plan has been repeatedly delayed. Employer opposition to programs proposed in Colorado and Missouri brought political heat on OSHA. Dear's departure slowed down all OSHA "reinvention" initiatives. And union leaders have been concerned about OSHA's ability to monitor voluntary improvements and the role employees play in those efforts.