Industry attorneys are arguing that OSHA enforcement has risen during the Trump administration as the lack of a confirmed political leader has left career staff wielding greater influence over the agency's enforcement approach, and pushing back against labor groups' assertions that agency enforcement is declining at an “accelerated pace.”
November 15, 2026
OSHA is advancing plans for a safety standard to protect communications tower workers from falls and other hazards, seeking input on documents supporting a small business advisors' review this summer of effects of a rule on employers, though a former agency official says Trump administration deregulatory orders dim the rule's prospects.
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An appellate court has upheld a lower court’s ruling limiting OSHA's authority to expand a facility inspection beyond the circumstances of a reported incident, faulting the agency's assertions that facility hazards and injury reports support “reasonable suspicion” of violations, though one panelist offered support for the agency's stance.
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Industry groups are urging OSHA to broaden its proposed rollback of an Obama-era injury and illness reporting rule to further curtail requirements for electronic reporting of injury data and the rule's anti-retaliation provisions, while labor groups and Democratic state officials are arguing the proposed revisions are unwarranted and will harm worker safety.
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The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is urging an appellate court to overturn a lower court ruling that partially denied its request for a broad subpoena for information related to an incident at an Exxon Mobil refinery, arguing the court abused its discretion in rejecting some subpoenas as “not relevant and material” to its inquiry.
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Backing calls by Democrats and labor groups, NIOSH is defending the Obama OSHA's update to the injury and illness recordkeeping program, arguing that requirements for employers to submit detailed injury and illness data under the rule would inform worker protection efforts, and help OSHA prioritize facilities for enforcement.
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Labor and food safety groups are warning they will sue the Trump administration if it allows additional poultry processing plants to qualify for waivers from its line-speed inspection rules under a newly announced plan to expand the existing waiver program, in part over concerns that the waivers will increase workplace safety risks.
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Public Citizen is defending its request for a federal court to grant a preliminary injunction compelling the Trump administration to implement delayed requirements of an Obama-era worker injury and illness reporting rule, arguing that it meets the grounds for relief because it is harmed by the delay and is likely to succeed in the litigation.
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Former OSHA officials are pointing to the Labor Department Office of Inspector General's (OIG) recent finding that half of all severe injuries go unreported as evidence that the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda is weakening OSHA oversight, blaming the repeal of an Obama-era record-keeping rule for under-reporting of severe injuries.
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OSHA is seeking nominations for more than a dozen slots on its advisory committee that provides input on rules governing workplace safety in construction sector, amid controversy that the Trump administration is generally sidelining use of such panels leading to an “insular” approach to decisionmaking.
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