What is the purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is fundamentally established to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for employees across various industries. Its primary function involves setting and enforcing standards that employers must follow to protect the health and safety of their workers. This can include regulations concerning workplace hazards, safety equipment, and employee training requirements.

By focusing on the enforcement of safety standards, OSHA plays a crucial role in reducing workplace incidents, injuries, and illnesses. It provides guidelines for employers to create a safer work environment, conducting inspections and investigations as needed to ensure compliance. This dedication to workplace safety underscores the importance of creating a protective framework for all employees, making it the correct answer in this context.

The other answer choices, while they touch upon aspects of the workplace environment, do not align with OSHA's primary mission. For instance, promoting financial performance, regulating hiring practices, and managing employee benefits do not specifically address worker safety or health standards that OSHA is designed to uphold.