The definition for a compliance officer means several possible occupations. Often a compliance officer is licensed and works for the National Bureau of Labor as part of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe working conditions in a business.

In this capacity a compliance officer may perform inspections of a business to make sure that all OSHA standards are being met. The compliance officer may direct a business to make changes and give the business a timeline for implementing changes that will better protect its workers. As well, a compliance officer may recommend that a business that fails to comply cease work.

A compliance officer may also take the complaints of employees who feel their health and safety may be endangered by a business practice. These complaints can be made anonymously to a local OSHA office. Even if they are made without anonymity, such complaints cannot result in an employee being fired.

Since businesses can be fined heavily for not complying with OSHA laws or with other laws, some companies now have created in-house compliance officer positions. These positions usually mean that the in-house compliance officer performs routine inspections to make sure that all OSHA rules are kept, thus eliminating complaints to OSHA, and hazards to the employees.

Additionally, other companies have a chief compliance officer position that reviews business practices from not only OSHA standards but also from other legal standards. Some compliance officers might evaluate the financial transactions of a company to make sure they are in keeping with all state and federal laws.

Another type of compliance officer might work in the medical field, and review the relationship between physicians and drug companies. Also a compliance officer in a hospital might evaluate the appropriate disposal of used needles, the maintenance of sterile conditions in operating rooms, or other safety measures.

The reason for employing a private compliance officer in any field is to be certain that the company is saved the trouble of intervention by OSHA or by other agencies. For example, a compliance officer working for a bank or accounting organization would want to make sure that everyone strictly observed all tax laws. These private compliance inspections mean that governmental intrusion will be minimal in a business.

As well, numerous laws now govern most organizations, and sometimes a compliance officer is needed to navigate through the muddy waters of the legal system and provide a business with ways to stay compliant with laws, and to avoid accidental non-compliance. As well, laws for businesses frequently undergo changes and a compliance officer can help better implement these changes quickly.