OSHA launches Safety Champions
OSHA rolled out a new Safety Champions Program to help employers strengthen workplace safety with tiered recognition and input from seasoned frontline advisors — a chance for stores to formalize safety leadership. Advocates are also pressing OSHA to update decades‑old PPE references, arguing current standards leave gaps for today’s retail workforces. (ehstoday.com) (safetyandhealthmagazine.com)
OSHA issued Directive CSP-03-01-006 — the Safety Champions Program Policies and Procedures Manual — signed Jan. 22, 2026 and effective Feb. 24, 2026 to establish formal program rules and procedures. (osha.gov) The program is built around the seven core elements from OSHA’s Recommended Practices (management leadership; worker participation; hazard ID, prevention and control; education and training; program evaluation; and communication) and uses three self‑guided Steps: Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced, with participants able to request a Safety Champion Special Government Employee (SGE) assessment. (osha.gov) The U.S. Department of Labor publicized the launch in a March 16, 2026 announcement positioning Safety Champions as a cooperative DCSP initiative, and OSHA has published a Step Guide, fact sheet and an employer “Tracker” to document Step progress. (dol.gov) On March 12, 2026 the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) led a coalition that formally petitioned OSHA to update incorporated‑by‑reference PPE consensus standards for eye/face (ANSI/ISEA Z87.1), head protection (ANSI/ISEA Z89.1) and first‑aid kits (ANSI/ISEA Z308.1), noting the agency’s current references date to 1989, 1998 and 2009 respectively. (safetyandhealthmagazine.com) The petition lists nine signatories — ISEA, American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), National Safety Council (NSC), American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN), ABSA International, Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM) and The Vision Council — and states the updates would align OSHA rules with modern product testing and markings used today. (safetyequipment.org) ISEA’s filing estimates the affected workforce in the hundreds of millions (ISEA cites protections relied on by more than 125 million workers) and asks OSHA for expedited/direct‑final rulemaking to replace outdated references without imposing new regulatory costs, calling out advances such as enhanced impact testing, clearer product markings and expanded biological‑hazard protection in newer standards. (safetyequipment.org)
