The Energy Department (DOE) has reopened the public comment period on proposed sweeping changes to its worker safety and health program aimed at expediting the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors in line with a Trump executive order, setting March 23 as the new comment deadline.
September 16, 2026
An employer-focused attorney is cautioning companies that a new OSHA compliance-assistance program is only a start to ensuring workplaces are following federal requirements, even as the agency continues to tout the program’s benefits.
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The Agriculture Department (USDA) is proposing to increase the line speeds for processing poultry and swine following studies last year that found only a limited association between faster slaughterhouse line speeds and increased worker injuries, a move that is drawing praise from meatpackers but opposition from labor.
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OSHA’s redesign of a poster that employers must post informing employees of the protections and obligations provided for in the OSH Act fails to provide information on some of employees’ most important rights and makes no mention of key employer responsibilities, Obama-era OSHA chief Jordan Barab says.
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EPA and petroleum refiners are urging a federal court to dismiss litigation seeking to force the agency to regulate hydrogen fluoride (HF) under TSCA, arguing that even with an amended complaint, environmental groups lack standing and that TSCA cannot regulate accidental chemical releases that could harm workers or residents.
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A group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), is renewing a push to prohibit the use of hydrogen fluoride under federal toxics law, pointing in recently reintroduced legislation to past incidents of immediate injuries and deaths to refinery workers who are exposed to the chemical.
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The 8th Circuit has denied without comment OSHA’s request for rehearing of a landmark ruling from a three-judge panel of the court that found the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) preempts OSHA from regulating worker safety around railcars.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and several of her Democratic colleagues are pressing Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and OSHA head David Keeling to explain why the agency is proposing to roll back several worker protection standards and has reduced enforcement efforts.
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The D.C. Circuit is questioning whether it has jurisdiction to decide a dispute between the Labor Department (DOL) and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) over whether the Labor secretary can vacate a citation or remove a designation indicating the violation is particularly serious.
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The 10th Circuit has upheld OSHA citations against a Colorado psychiatric hospital for failing to prevent workplace violence, rejecting arguments that the agency lacked authority under the OSH Act’s General Duty Clause to issue the citations and that an administrative law judge (ALJ) erred in backing the citations.
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