Occupational health

Occupational Health: Practical Compliance Steps to Protect Workers and Reduce Risk

If you’re responsible for HR or operations, you’re likely searching for a clear, compliant way to improve occupational health—keeping employees safe, preventing illness and injury, and meeting workplace compliance obligations. This guide breaks down what “occupational health” means in practice, how it connects to worker safety, and the actionable steps you can take to strengthen ohs health and safety in your organization.

For broader context on what safety programs typically include, start with SwiftSDS’s guide to define workplace safety.

What occupational health covers (and why it matters for compliance)

Occupational health is the system of policies, controls, training, and monitoring used to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses—everything from chemical exposure and hearing loss to stress-related harm. You’ll also see it referred to as safety and health, workplace health and safety, labour safety, or h and safety.

From a compliance perspective, occupational health ties directly to:

• OSHA’s General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act), requiring employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
• OSHA standards on hazard communication, PPE, respiratory protection, noise, bloodborne pathogens, and more (industry-dependent).
• State-specific requirements (including posting and notice rules) that can apply in addition to federal expectations.

Occupational health isn’t only about avoiding citations—it also helps reduce workers’ comp costs, absenteeism, turnover, and operational disruption.

Core elements of an effective occupational health program

1) Hazard identification and risk assessment (the foundation of OHS workplace safety)

A compliant ohs workplace safety approach starts with identifying hazards and documenting how you’ll control them. Use a repeatable process:

• Map tasks by department (receiving, production, field work, office, driving).
• Identify hazard types: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial.
• Rate risk (likelihood x severity).
• Assign controls, owners, and deadlines.

Actionable tip: Build a simple “top 10 hazards” register and update it after incidents, near misses, equipment changes, or new chemicals.

2) Controls hierarchy: engineer, admin, PPE (in that order)

To strengthen health work safety, apply the hierarchy of controls:

1. Elimination/Substitution (remove the hazard or swap for safer alternatives)
2. Engineering controls (guards, ventilation, isolation)
3. Administrative controls (SOPs, job rotation, scheduling)
4. PPE (gloves, eyewear, respirators)

Actionable tip: If you’re relying heavily on PPE, you may be under-investing in engineering controls—something that often shows up during audits and incident investigations.

3) Training employees on hazards, procedures, and rights

Training is where many programs fail—either it’s not documented, not role-specific, or not refreshed.

Key compliance linkages include “right-to-know” concepts and hazard communication. Tie your training plan to:

• Chemical labeling/SDS access and hazard communication
• Equipment safety and lockout/tagout (if applicable)
• Incident reporting and near-miss reporting
• Emergency response and evacuation
• Anti-impairment and substance policies (where required or best practice)

For a deeper dive on worker awareness requirements, see employee right to know. If your policy includes controlled substances testing, ensure it aligns with applicable rules and read SwiftSDS’s overview of the drug free workplace act.

4) Occupational health surveillance and “OSH medical” support

Some hazards require medical monitoring or exposure tracking. OSH medical support can include:

• Respiratory medical evaluations for respirator use (where required)
• Hearing conservation (baseline and annual audiograms for high-noise roles)
• Exposure monitoring (air sampling for certain chemicals)
• Post-exposure evaluations (e.g., bloodborne pathogens)
• Return-to-work coordination and restrictions management

Actionable tip: Create a checklist that pairs each hazard category with whether it triggers medical surveillance, monitoring, or recordkeeping obligations.

5) Incident response, documentation, and continuous improvement

To make worker safety measurable, define:

• What must be reported immediately (injury, near miss, property damage, hazard)
• Who investigates and by when
• Root cause methodology (e.g., “5 Whys”)
• Corrective action tracking and closeout verification

Even if you’re not required to maintain certain OSHA logs due to company size or industry, internal tracking still supports safety and health performance and defensibility.

Required postings and notices: the overlooked compliance gap

Occupational health compliance isn’t only training and PPE—workplace notices are a frequent audit issue. Requirements vary by jurisdiction.

To stay organized across locations, many employers use a centralized compliance poster service to keep postings current.

Federal posting: FLSA notice (common requirement across workplaces)

Most employers must post the federal wage and hour notice. SwiftSDS hosts the official poster, including:

• Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (English)
• Derechos de los Trabajadores Bajo la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo (FLSA) (Spanish)

For a consolidated view of what federal postings typically apply, reference Federal (United States) Posting Requirements.

Example of state-specific occupational health postings (Massachusetts)

If you operate in Massachusetts (or have MA public employees), state notices may include workplace safety-related postings such as:

• Massachusetts Workplace Safety and Health Protection for Public Employees

Multi-site employers should also verify local posting rules. For example, see Worcester County, MA Posting Requirements.

Building a compliant occupational health plan: a simple 30–60–90 day approach

First 30 days: establish minimum standards

• Assign a program owner and backups.
• List required training by role (new hire and annual refreshers).
• Confirm your SDS access method and hazard communication workflow.
• Audit required postings for each site using jurisdiction pages (start with Federal (United States) Posting Requirements).

Days 31–60: formalize policies and procedures

• Write/update your safety policy and reporting procedures.
• Implement routine inspections (weekly supervisor checks + monthly formal).
• Define contractor and temporary worker safety onboarding steps.

For templates and structure, use SwiftSDS’s resource on health and safety policies and procedures.

Days 61–90: verify effectiveness

• Run a tabletop emergency drill.
• Review leading indicators (near misses, corrective actions closed, training completion).
• Validate controls (fit testing, ventilation checks, guarding inspections).
• Schedule periodic “OSH medical” evaluations if required by hazards.

To see what “good” looks like across different industries, review Health and safety in the workplace examples.

Occupational health also includes psychosocial safety (harassment, violence, and mental health)

Modern workplace health and safety programs increasingly address psychosocial hazards—harassment, bullying, threats, and workload stress—because they can lead to real harm and legal exposure.

Actionable steps:

• Maintain a clear complaint process and anti-retaliation controls.
• Train supervisors on early intervention and documentation.
• Coordinate HR and safety teams on investigations and corrective action.

To align your program with legal expectations, see harassment in the workplace laws.

FAQ: Occupational health and compliance

What’s the difference between occupational health and workplace safety?

Occupational health includes workplace safety (injury prevention) plus illness prevention and exposure management, such as chemical monitoring, ergonomics, stress risks, and OSH medical surveillance when required.

Do small businesses have to follow OSHA occupational health requirements?

In most cases, yes—OSHA duties generally apply regardless of size, though certain recordkeeping requirements vary by employer size and industry. The safest approach is to implement core ohs health and safety controls (hazard assessment, training, incident response) and confirm posting requirements via Federal (United States) Posting Requirements.

How do I know which postings apply to my location?

Posting rules depend on where employees work. Start with federal requirements, then check state and local pages such as Ohio (OH) Labor Law Posting Requirements or county/city pages when applicable. If you operate across multiple jurisdictions, a managed compliance poster service can reduce missed updates.

Occupational health is most effective when it’s treated as an operational system: assess hazards, control risks, train and document consistently, monitor exposures where needed, and keep required notices current. That combination strengthens safety and health, supports compliance, and protects employees while reducing business risk.