Although occupational safety and health law has existed in Austria for a long time, today´s provisions are largely based on EU-directives. The core of the OSH legal system is the Health and Safety at Work Act and the derived regulations which apply to the majority of Austrian employees. For some groups of workers, the regulations have partly been adapted to their special working conditions or organisational structures, such as in agriculture and forestry, among federal employees or those employed by the provinces or local authorities. Therefore, separate occupational safety and health provisions, which are loosely based on the Health and Safety at Work Act, apply in these sectors.