OSHA is backing off its 2022 proposal to scrap its prior approval allowing Arizona to operate an OSH Act state plan, saying state officials have taken “significant actions to address” concerns that drove the withdrawal push, including tying their employer penalties to federal levels and easing procedures to adopt emergency standards mirroring those the agency issues.
November 14, 2026
OSHA is gaining new authority to issue visas to victims of certain alleged crimes including forced labor, obstruction of justice and human trafficking, further expanding the Biden administration’s efforts to protect undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation when they report workplace violations.
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Unions, Democratic-led states and pro-regulatory groups are lining up against a contracting firm’s lawsuit claiming OSHA’s authority to craft and enforce safety standards is unconstitutional, calling the company’s claims untethered from the law and warning that granting its request would “hobble” workplace safeguards nationwide.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit is backing OSHA’s narrow reading of a little-used provision in the OSH Act allowing workers to sue the agency when it fails to address an “imminent danger” of workplace harm, agreeing that such suits face the same six-month statute of limitations as federal enforcement action under the law.
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OSHA is citing Amazon over a wide range of alleged safety violations at three of the retailer’s warehouses in Florida, Illinois and New York, marking the latest step in an investigation prompted by rare referrals from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the agency.
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OSHA is raising its minimum and maximum penalties for OSH Act violations by 7.7 percent to account for inflation, an even larger hike than the prior year and one the agency is again ordering states to adopt in their own work-safety programs even as it awaits a federal judge’s ruling in litigation over whether that mandate is lawful.
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Health and work-safety groups that sued over OSHA’s Trump-era rollback of electronic recordkeeping mandates are pressing to resume their suit after the Biden administration moved its target for finalizing a new, stricter rule from March to June, saying the agency’s “pattern of reneging on its agreements” means litigation is the only sure path to resolve their claims.
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OSHA’s director of standards and guidance is vowing that the agency will move quickly on its long-awaited nationwide heat danger standard, telling a key advisory committee that it is actively developing new guidance and expects to initiate a small-business consultation within months.
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OSHA has posted online a new batch of regulatory interpretation letters for the first time in more than six months, offering answers to employers’ questions for clarification on exit signage requirements, fall protections for certain cranes, and compliance with lockout/tagout standards during pipeline repair.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has set oral argument for early March in a construction firm’s clash with OSHA over the agency’s safety standards for crane assembly and disassembly, teeing up arguments on whether those requirements “clearly” apply to preparatory work as the agency says, and how to read any ambiguity in the rule.
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