The U.S. DOL administers various health and safety protections for all workers, including IT workers, primarily through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
 | Compensation for Workplace InjuriesState-administered workers’ compensation programs are designed to protect employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. While the core benefits of medical care, wage replacement, and rehabilitation are common across all programs, the specifics can vary greatly depending on state laws and regulations. |
Although OSHA does not specify standards exclusively for computer workstations, it offers comprehensive guidelines and resources to ensure a safe and healthy work environment for IT workers.
Under OSHA, employers have a general duty to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. This includes ergonomic hazards commonly associated with computer workstations.
OSHA provides detailed ergonomic guidelines to help reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among IT workers. These guidelines include recommendations for proper working positions, workstation components, and environmental factors.
Myth
IT workers, whether regular employees or independent contractors, do not have workplace health and safety protections.
Fact
IT workers have the right to:
✔️ Working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm.
✔️ Receive information and training about workplace hazards and OSHA standards.
✔️ Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
✔️ File a complaint with OSHA if they believe there is a serious hazard or if their employer is not following OSHA rules. OSHA will keep identities confidential and protect workers from retaliation.
OSHA’s mission is to assure America’s workers have safe and healthful working conditions free from unlawful retaliation and carries out its mission by setting and enforcing standards; enforcing anti-retaliation provisions of the OSH Act and other federal whistleblower laws; providing and supporting training, outreach, education, and assistance; and ensuring state OSHA programs are at least as effective as federal OSHA, furthering a national system of worker safety and health protections.
State labor agencies perform a variety of functions to regulate and oversee labor-related matters within their state including enforcing labor laws, administering unemployment benefits, managing workforce development and overseeing workplace safety and health.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for training and profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements and administers a variety of Federal labor laws to carry out this mission.
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The AFL-CIO Working for America Institute (WAI) has served as the AFL-CIO national workforce intermediary for over 50 years. The WAI brings together unions, employers, joint labor-management partnerships, workforce intermediaries, the workforce system, and community organizations to develop high quality, worker-centered training and Registered Apprenticeship programs and high-quality, family-sustaining jobs.
This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of DOL/ETA. DOL/ETA makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it.