OSHA’s New Safety Champions Program
A new voluntary initiative gives employers another path to strengthen safety programs.
- By David Kopf
- Aug 06, 2026
If you’ve ever coached youth sports, you know every team doesn’t begin the season at the same level. Some need help mastering the fundamentals before they can think about championships.
OSHA’s new Safety Champions Program is built around a similar premise: meeting employers where they are and helping them strengthen their safety and health programs over time.
I recently had the opportunity to discuss the initiative with Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Keeling during Episode 231 of the OH&S SafetyPod, recorded at ASSP Safety 2026. You can listen on your favorite podcast platform or in the Resources section of www.ohsonline.com.
During our conversation, Keeling described Safety Champions as a roadmap for organizations that want to improve their safety programs. He also differentiated the initiative from OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), explaining that while VPP recognizes organizations with mature safety and health management systems, Safety Champions is intended to help employers develop those systems through a structured, step-by-step process.
The voluntary program consists of three stages, Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced, and is built around OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs. Employers can work through the program at their own pace and, if they choose, receive guidance from trained Special Government Employees (SGEs), who help participants navigate each stage. OSHA also emphasizes that participation is separate from the agency’s enforcement activities.
During our interview, Keeling said Safety Champions is “intended to meet businesses where they are in their journey.” He described it as a roadmap that can help organizations with little or no formal safety program establish a foundation and then continue building from there. That emphasis on continuous improvement became a recurring theme throughout our conversation.
If you’re interested in learning more, OSHA has assembled several useful resources: The Step Guide explains the expectations for each stage of the program, the FAQ addresses common questions about participation and implementation, and the Fact Sheet provides a concise overview suitable for sharing within your organization. Employers can access these resources and register for the program through OSHA’s Safety Champions webpage, www.osha.gov/safety-champions.
The program is still new, so it will take time to determine how broadly it is adopted and what measurable impact it has. I’m interested to see whether employers — particularly small- and medium-sized organizations — embrace the opportunity and whether the program helps them strengthen their safety and health efforts. If participation reaches a meaningful scale, Safety Champions could provide another useful tool for advancing workplace safety.
David Kopf
Publisher & Executive Editor, OH&S Magazine
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2026 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
About the Author
David Kopf is the Executive Editor of Occupational Health & Safety and the Group Publisher of the Security-Safety Group at 1105 Media.