The Department of Labor (DOL) is curtailing OSHA and other agencies’ public announcements of enforcement actions, directing them not to publicize violations or fines until a case is resolved in court, despite findings that press releases are more effective than inspections at deterring future violations.
November 15, 2026
Employer liability remains a major unresolved issue in the ongoing talks between Democrats, Republicans and the White House over a potential new COVID-19 stimulus bill, with many in the GOP caucus demanding its inclusion in such a bill despite long-running Democratic opposition to any such waiver for companies.
Date:
OSHA has issued guidance aimed at boosting use of N95 respirator masks to limit the spread of COVID-19, an effort to combat what it says is unfounded controversy over whether the masks and other face coverings provide adequate protections from the virus and reinforcing what some attorneys say is effectively a mandate to use them.
Date:
Michigan has enacted the second binding set of state-issued workplace standards in the United States for COVID-19 after the state’s high court struck down Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) executive orders aimed at curbing the pandemic, with the new rule setting broad mandates for employers as well as sector-specific requirements.
Date:
An attorney for labor unions suing over the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) line speed waiver program for swine slaughterhouses says the judge hearing the case appears poised to find that the rule is unlawful, but is giving no indication of whether she would vacate the policy or allow it to stay in force during a remand.
Date:
Speakers at an Oct. 13 OSHA stakeholder meeting on its whistleblower program urged the agency to bolster outreach to employers and workers alike on how it operates, rework several of its rules on the subject and bolster its resources as complaints related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to swell.
Date:
Top Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee are attacking OSHA’s recent guidance on reporting worker hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 as a move to “eliminate, for all practical purposes” mandatory reporting of workplace infections, and demanding details on how the agency crafted the policy.
Date:
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is asking a federal district court to dismiss a suit from unions and a worker-safety group over its program that allows some poultry slaughterhouses to increase line speeds, arguing that they have shown no proof the higher speeds pose a “substantial” risk to workers.
Date:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new guidance finding potential for COVID-19 to spread through the air -- separate from the short-range droplets believed to be the virus’ primary mode of travel -- could force employers to update their infection-control measures in order to comply with OSHA standards.
Date:
The collapse of bipartisan talks on COVID-19 relief and President Donald Trump’s vow not to field any new offers until after the election all but kills GOP plans to insert employee liability waivers in the bill and Democrats’ hopes of using the legislation as a vehicle to force OSHA to issue an emergency virus safety standard.
Date: