Date
Name of the Employer
Address

Dear_______:

Last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) surveyed employers to collect workplace injury and illness data. The Agency used these data to identify the approximately 15,000 workplaces with the highest Days Away from work, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rates; your workplace was one of those identified. This means workers in your establishment are being injured at a higher rate than in most other businesses in the country.

I am writing you to indicate my concern about the high DART rate at your establishment and to identify ways that you can obtain assistance in addressing hazards in your workplace. OSHA recognizes that your elevated DART rate does not necessarily indicate a lack of interest in safety and health. Whatever the cause, a high rate is costly to your company in both personal and financial terms. In addition, you should be aware that OSHA may target up to 4500 general industry workplaces identified in the survey for inspection in the next year.

Over the years OSHA has found that many employers lack expertise in the field of workplace safety and health and welcome assistance by experts in this field. You may wish to consider hiring an outside safety and health consultant, talking with your insurance carrier, or contacting your state’s workers’ compensation agency for advice. Your workers can help identify hazards and find solutions. In addition, if you have a union at your site, please discuss with them how to reduce hazards in your workplace.

An excellent way for employers with 250 or fewer workers to address safety and health in their workplaces is to ask for assistance from OSHA’s consultation program. This program is administered by a state agency and operated separately from OSHA’s enforcement program. The service is free and confidential, and there are no fines even if problems are found. Designed for small employers, the consultation program can help you identify hazards in your workplace and find effective and economical solutions for eliminating or controlling them. In addition, the OSHA state consultant can assist you in developing and implementing a safety and health management system for your workplace.

In your state, the OSHA consultation program may be contacted at:

Name, Project Manager
Name of Organization
Address - first line
Address - second line
Telephone number

I encourage you to consider these suggestions as well as visit OSHA’s home page at www.osha.gov for information to help you ensure safe and healthful working conditions in your establishment. As it was last year, a list of all the employers receiving this letter will be available from the OSHA home page.

Sincerely,



David Michaels, PhD, MPH 
Assistant Secretary