Judge Sides With OSHA On Preemption, Possibly With Eye Toward High Court Review

A federal court has sided with OSHA in a key preemption case, agreeing that the agency's cranes and derricks rule does not preempt New York City's building code, which was written with stricter standards to protect not only workers but the general public from construction crane hazards. An industry attorney who reviewed the decision suggested the District Court judge wrote it in such a way as to withstand an appeal, possibly all the way to the Supreme Court. But he also said such case law could work against the agency in other areas that involve the public at large and potentially step into lo