Introduction
Indiana is one of the 29 States or U.S. Territories that operates an OSHA-approved State Plan. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) granted initial approval of the Indiana State Plan on March 6, 1974. State Plan Certification was achieved on October 6, 1981. Federal OSHA granted the Indiana State Plan Final Approval on September 26, 1986.
The Indiana State Plan (Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is administered by the Indiana Department of Labor. Because Indiana operates its own OSHA-approved State Plan, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) has jurisdiction over most private and public sector work establishments and jobsites throughout the State of Indiana.
To maintain its State Plan approval, IOSHA is required to operate at least as effective as Federal OSHA in its enforcement of workplace safety and health standards and regulations. Indiana Code 22-8-1.1-17.5 does not permit IOSHA from adopting or enforcing occupational safety and health standards that are more stringent than federal OSHA.
IOSHA and its staff of dedicated occupational safety and health professionals works to advance the safety and health of Hoosiers in the workplace. To advance occupational safety and health, IOSHA conducts workplace safety and health inspections and investigations with the goal of identifying and eliminating hazards and exposures in the workplace that can lead to worker injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
The IOSHA Division of Occupational Safety Compliance works to perform inspections and investigations of physical hazards at construction worksites, and in other workplaces including manufacturing facilities, healthcare establishments, foundries, and many others. IOSHA’s Safety Compliance Officers use a variety of testing instruments and primarily focus on physical hazards related to the use of equipment and machinery such as hand tools, presses, injection molding, forklifts and other powered industrial vehicles, cranes, scaffolds, etc., which may result in worker injuries ranging from skin irritations and abrasions to sprains, strains, or tears, broken bones, amputations, and death.
IOSHA’s Division of Occupational Health Compliance performs inspections and investigations of Indiana workplaces using a variety of sampling devices and instruments that focus on health hazards related to chemical and noise exposures, which may result in reduction or loss of personal abilities including hearing, sight, memory, muscular function, and death. The Health Compliance Officers address biological hazards such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other living organisms which could cause adverse health effects. IOSHA’s Health Compliance Officers also address chemical hazards—solids, liquids, gases, dusts, fumes, and vapors which may expose workers to toxic chemicals through inhalation (e.g., breathing), absorption (e.g., through direct contact with the skin or mucous membrane), or ingestion (e.g., eating or drinking).
IOSHA also oversees the Whistleblower Protection Unit. The Whistleblower Protection Unit is charged with protecting Hoosier workers from adverse employment actions for engaging in a protected activity. For more information about the Whistleblower Protection Unit, please click here.
IOSHA oversees the Indiana Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and other cooperative programs such as partnerships and alliances. IOSHA is proud to showcase the activities and best practices of its VPP sites and partnerships and alliance participants.
IOSHA leverages all of its resources to change workplace culture to increase employer and employee awareness of, commitment to, and involvement in workplace safety and health while securing public confidence through excellence in the development and delivery of its programs and services.
What To Expects When IOSHA Inspects Your Workspace Or Worksite
This video is a demonstration of the IOSHA inspection process from beginning to end and serves solely as a public education tool. This simulated inspection and video runtime is approximately 52 minutes.
Request Workplace Safety and Health Assistance
The Indiana Department of Labor’s INSafe Division provides workplace safety and health consultation services to Hoosier employers. Employers may request free and confidential workplace safety and health consultation services. To learn more about these services provided by INSafe, please click here.
Filing a Workplace Safety or Health Complaint with IOSHA
To learn more about filing a workplace safety or health complaint with IOSHA, please click here.
Report a Work-related Fatality
Employers are required to report work-related fatalities within eight (8) hours of the death.
To report a worker fatality during normal business hours (excluding holidays), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., please call (317) 232-2693. If making a report outside the abovementioned hours, please call 800-321-OSHA or 800-321-6742.
Report a Work-related Incident Resulting in Worker Hospitalization, Amputation, or Loss of Eye(s)
Hospitalizations, amputations (with or without bone loss), or losses of one or both eyes must be reported to IOSHA within 24 hours. To report one or more of the abovementioned incidents during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., please call (317) 232-2693 to speak with an IOSHA representative. The non-fatality incident may also be reported online by clicking here.
Review a Company’s Workplace Safety and Health Compliance Activities
Using the Establishment Search function provided by federal OSHA, the user can review whether an establishment or employer has been inspected and the violations cited, if any.
State Occupational Annual Report (SOAR)
Annually, the Indiana Department of Labor submits a report, SOAR, to its federal OSHA monitors. To past reports, please click here.
Additional Links Which May be Helpful
OSHA’s webpage may be easily searched using the A-Z Topic Index at the top of your screen.
Below, find a some important topic pages from OSHA’s website:
- OSHA Recordkeeping, learn about recordable workplace injuries and illnesses
- Injury Tracking Application, report annual worker injury and illness data and information
- Publications, access educational resources and materials
- Machine Guarding
- Lockout/Tagout
- Trenching and Excavation Safety
- Fall Protection
- Fall Protection in Residential Construction, fall protection specific to residential construction
Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
National Labor Relations Board
Interstate Labor Standards Association
At the time of publication of this webpage (10/2022), IOSHA, the Indiana Enforcement State Plan, receives 50% of its budget from a grant of $2,570,100 in federal funds. The remaining 50% of the State Plan budget is financed through $2,570,100 Indiana state funds.