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South Carolina is preparing to resume its challenge to OSHA’s mandate for state plans to match federal OSH Act penalty levels, after the Supreme Court eased the Administrative Procedure Act’s (APA) six-year deadline for suits against the federal government that the agency previously touted in a bid to dismiss the case.

Two Democratic committee chairs are floating an amendment to the chamber’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to reauthorize the lapsed Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standard (CFATS) program for two years, after a parallel measure in the House failed to reach a floor vote.

House lawmakers are planning a hearing next week to evaluate their options in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision overruling the longstanding Chevron deference doctrine, with some seeking to bolster Congress’ resources and oversight to provide more-detailed legislation though many conservatives are pushing deregulatory measures to limit ISHA and other agencies’ authorities.

OSHA’s updated hazard communication standard (HCS) appears set to reach a July 19 deadline for legal challenges with no known industry suits that might seek to reverse its newly tightened chemical-labeling mandates -- a move that one industry attorney says appears to be driven by manufacturers’ focus on litigating EPA’s TSCA rules instead.

OSHA is seeking nominees to its National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) to replace the four members on the 12-seat panel whose terms are slated to end in January.

A broad coalition of employers is arguing that OSHA’s rule allowing employee representatives to participate in enforcement “walkarounds” outside of their own work sites violates multiple statutes and Constitutional doctrines, in their first formal bid for a federal court to overturn the policy.

Top officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency that was responsible for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program before Congress allowed it to expire last year say facilities previously subject to the program are now facing “increasing” physical and cyber threats from a variety of hostile actors.

OSHA and Dollar General have agreed to settle a years-long enforcement suit over claims of widespread unsafe conditions such as faulty emergency exits at the discount retail chain, including a $12 million monetary penalty and commitments from the company to improve worker protections across its stores.

A bill that would require California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to amend its hospital violence-prevention rules to require that facilities maintain metal detectors at certain entrances and implement a number of supporting security measures cleared a key committee vote last week, after lawmakers approved amendments allowing small and rural hospitals to use metal-detecting “wands” instead.

Legal experts are warning that the Supreme Court’s recent decision holding that defendants are entitled to jury trials when contesting Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) administrative enforcement actions seeking civil penalties could tee up challenges to many agencies’ programs, and potentially make them less aggressive even if those suits do not succeed.