The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has approved a bid from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to defend portions of EPA’s rule setting worker-protection and other mandates for use of the solvent methylene chloride while denying a parallel request from the AFL-CIO, giving the industry group an equal role with EPA in the case.
November 15, 2026
Chemical-sector groups suing EPA over its rule overhauling the requirements for TSCA risk evaluations of existing chemicals are previewing broad arguments that the rule is unlawful or even unconstitutional, though they are not yet naming specific provisions they will seek to overturn.
Date:
The Biden administration has released its latest Unified Agenda of regulatory actions, detailing updated timelines for a host of long-pending OSHA policies along with a single newly announced rulemaking process where the agency says it plans to consider whether to approve a new fit-testing protocol for respiratory protective gear.
Date:
The Supreme Court will not take up an employer’s suit that claimed OSH Act provisions giving OSHA authority to craft long-term safety standards as “appropriate” are unconstitutional, denying a bid to drastically expand the “nondelegation” doctrine limiting Congress’ ability to grant agencies rulemaking discretion.
Date:
The Supreme Court has adopted a new, stringent standard for regulatory agencies to justify sending enforcement actions to administrative law judges (ALJs) for review rather than federal courts, but the majority appears to hold up the OSH Act as an example of a law that passes its test, signaling that OSHA could avoid major impacts from the precedent.
Date:
Unions and a worker-protection group are signaling that their suit over EPA’s rule setting out requirements for chemical risk evaluations will target a single provision allowing the agency to consider data on companies’ use of protective equipment in its reviews -- a narrow focus despite the rule’s broad swath of policy changes.
Date:
Six national and regional trade associations are suing the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) over its landmark rule tightening exposure standards for silica dust, with one of the petitioners vowing to target what its top official says was the final measure’s inclusion of several elements never mentioned in a 2023 proposal.
Date:
A broad coalition of unions, public-health groups and environmentalists is petitioning the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to recognize extreme heat and related wildfires as “major disasters” eligible for federal relief funding, arguing the move would help local authorities quickly ramp up protections for workers and vulnerable communities.
Date:
EPA has formally published its proposed TSCA risk management rule for the solvent n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), starting a 45-day comment period that will close on July 29 as the agency seeks to finalize restrictions on the chemical’s use that it says are designed to protect industrial and commercial workers from chronic exposure.
Date:
A federal judicial panel has chosen the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review EPA’s redone “framework” rule governing TSCA risk evaluations of existing chemicals -- a victory for labor groups that sought to challenge it there, and a loss for industry groups that favored the conservative 5th Circuit instead.
Date: