David Reynolds

An industry attorney says that an administrative law judge's (ALJ) recent ruling highlights liability concerns that staffing agencies face if deemed “exposing employers” under OSHA's multi-employer enforcement policy, a focus of Obama-era enforcement that agency staff has not shown signs of backing off of during the Trump administration.

Environmentalists and Democratic-led states are threatening to sue EPA if the agency does not drop its plan to roll back the Obama-era rule strengthening the agency's facility accident prevention program, citing the recent appellate ruling vacating EPA's measure delaying the rule's implementation.

Environmental and community petitioners are urging an appellate court that struck down the Trump administration's delay of the Obama-era facility accident preventation rule to quickly finalize its ruling, arguing that continued delay poses risks to millions, and that EPA is unlikely to prevail in any future appeal.

EPA's proposal to strengthen its 2001 lead paint dust hazard standards is spurring conflicting reactions, with healthy housing groups and some states urging the agency to significantly tighten its standards, which could prompt greater protections for workers conducting renovation and repair in some facilities with lead paint, though home builders say more data is necessary to ensure the proposal is viable.

Environmentalists and industry attorneys say the appellate court ruling vacating the Trump administration's delay of the Obama-era facility safety rule sets a high bar for EPA's ongoing effort to revise the regulation, given the judges' emphasis on EPA's Clean Air Act duty to prevent disasters and failure to show the delay was consistent with increased safety.

An industry attorney is seeking an employer who could act as a plaintiff in a potential lawsuit challenging what the attorney describes as OSHA's practice of "shaming" employers in enforcement press releases as unconstitutional, arguing that the Trump administration has failed to soften critical language in the announcements that harm employers even in cases where allegations are reduced or rescinded.

Appellate judges have scrapped former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's rule delaying by almost two years implementation of Obama-era facility safety requirements after finding the delay made a “mockery” of Clean Air Act mandates, the latest in a string of legal losses for the agency in suits filed over Pruitt delays of Obama EPA policies.

Industry attorneys are welcoming EPA's recent approval of a new chemical that took a narrow view of the substance's “reasonably foreseen uses” that the agency is required to consider, but are urging officials to clarify whether the approach is intended to apply more broadly to agency reviews of other new chemicals under the revised toxics law.

EPA has approved a new chemical for use under the revised toxics law but has limited its review and regulation of the substance's “reasonably foreseen uses,” a move environmentalists say signals a “reckless” process for reviewing new chemicals that violates the June 2016 toxics law by failing to preclude unintended uses from its requirements.