OSHA Introduces Safety Champions Program
A new Safety Champions Program aims to help employers strengthen workplace safety through a voluntary, structured framework.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Mar 04, 2026
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched the Safety Champions Program, a voluntary initiative designed to help employers develop and strengthen workplace safety and health programs. The program aims to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities by encouraging organizations to adopt proactive safety practices and systematic hazard prevention.
The program is based on seven core elements of effective safety and health programs: management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification and assessment, hazard prevention and control, education and training, program evaluation and improvement, and communication and coordination among employers, contractors and staffing agencies.
Safety Champions is structured as a self-guided, three-step framework—Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced— allowing organizations to improve their safety and health programs at their own pace. Participants may also request assistance from Safety Champions Special Government Employees, who can review safety and health programs and assess progress through the program’s steps.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco brings a strong and varied journalism background to her role at Occupational Health & Safety, having previously served as a multimedia editor, broadcast journalist, professor and reviewer across major news organizations. As Content Editor, she writes news and feature articles, hosts sponsor and editorial webinars, co-hosts the SafetyPod worker health and safety podcast, and manages the brand’s digital and social media presence. She is committed to informing and engaging the safety community through compelling reporting and conversations that support safer, healthier workplaces.