A coalition of Republican officials from 14 states has formally challenged EPA’s controversial update to the risk management program (RMP), signaling that they will argue the new rule’s mandate for facilities to assess and adopt “safer” technologies carries no clear benefits that would justify its compliance costs.
September 16, 2026
OSHA is reworking the borders between several of its regions and abandoning the long-standing numbered designations for those offices, saying the changes will help it “direct its resources effectively and make the agency more resilient” in part by prioritizing states that lack delegated authority to implement the OSH Act.
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EPA’s industry and Republican critics are warning of a wave of imminent litigation challenging the agency’s recently finalized risk management program (RMP) rule updates and seeking to block it from taking effect later this week, charging it exceeds the agency’s authority and places unnecessary burdens on covered facilities.
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Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su told lawmakers at a May 1 House hearing that OSHA expects to release a “notice” advancing its long-awaited heat danger standard “later this year,” and will propose a workplace violence standard for healthcare facilities “soon” -- which would be a landmark step for a rule that has been in development since the Obama era.
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Two employer attorneys are pointing to several aspects of OSHA inspections where they say companies could either contest the agency’s approval of “third-party” worker representatives under a controversial new rule or limit their access to job sites, previewing potential case-by-case disputes that could run parallel to broader litigation over the policy’s legality.
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Top officials at the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) used the agency’s latest public business meeting to tout its recent progress on accident investigations, while previewing plans to make incident reports and related information more easily accessible to the public through improved online access and communication.
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Mining-sector employers and unions alike are backing the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) newly tightened standards for respirable crystalline silica (RCS), but both say implementation remains a key question, with one union urging strict enforcement while a trade group says the agency should align its approach with OSHA’s own silica rule.
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OSHA has posted online injury and illness tracking data from 2023 that employers provided as part of the first compliance cycle for its electronic recordkeeping and reporting rule earlier this year, a move the agency says will allow stakeholders to identify safety hazards though the agency is not yet providing its own analysis of the reports.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has denied a Texas contracting firm’s bid to overturn an OSHA trench-safety citation under the “unpreventable employee misconduct” (UEM) doctrine, backing the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s (OSHRC) application of a four-part test for employers to invoke that defense.
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has released its final update to 50-year-old standards for respirable crystalline silica (RCS), with more stringent reporting and monitoring mandates compared to a 2023 proposal, although it also extends compliance deadlines for operators, particularly those at smaller mines.
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