OSHA has finalized its removal of the open fires standard from the marine terminals rule, finding the requirement is no longer necessary to protect employees working in marine terminals from occupational safety and health hazards.
September 16, 2026
OSHA is announcing changes to the division of enforcement of workplace safety and health between the federal government and Maryland and Puerto Rico, clarifying that OSHA will cover certain private-sector employment in Maryland and reinstating federal coverage of similar private-sector employment in Puerto Rico.
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OSHA’s renewed and revised National Emphasis Program (NEP) for heat hazards is drawing mixed reviews from experts, with employer-focused attorneys noting inspectors will still be able to expand investigations to address heat concerns and worker advocates decrying the lack of numeric inspection targets and other changes.
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The Labor Department’s (DOL) plan to shift some whistleblower investigators out of OSHA and into a newly created Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is raising questions about the proposal’s practical effects on investigations that may involve more than one statute, as well as how DOL will be able to handle a growing number of complaints.
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Virginia has enacted a law requiring the development of a heat illness standard for indoor and outdoor workers by May 2028, joining a growing list of states that have established or are pursuing state-level heat standards amid uncertainty over whether OSHA will finalize a national standard proposed by the Biden administration.
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A Democratic House lawmaker from Illinois is urging EPA to halt its plan to extend compliance deadlines for workplace exposure requirements for two solvents, arguing the agency’s proposal to extend these deadlines contained in Biden-era TSCA risk management rules will weak protections for workers.
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OSHA has finalized its revocation of the “house falls” in marine terminals standard after it determined the standard is no longer necessary to protect employees working in marine terminals from occupational safety and health hazards -- the first finalization of a score of deregulatory actions the agency proposed last year.
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OSHA is urging a federal district court in Texas to dismiss for a range of procedural grounds a constitutional challenge to the OSH Act brought by a pair of produce groups in the state, or, if the court decides it has jurisdiction, to find that the OSH Act contains an “intelligible principle” and is constitutional.
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently confirmed that a judicial stay of Biden-era silica standards remains in effect while the agency engages in “limited rulemaking” to reconsider the 2024 rule, although legal experts note uncertainty over MSHA’s future actions remains.
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OSHA has issued a revised version of its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for heat-related hazards after allowing a Biden-era version of the NEP to lapse, cutting the overall number of industries targeted by the program and removing a mandate to increase inspections.
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