Critics of EPA's proposed ban on certain uses of trichlorothylene (TCE) are faulting the Obama administration's conclusion that TCE causes human cancers and are calling on the Trump administration to assess new data from worker safety studies released since EPA's 2011 Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) review of the chemical.
September 17, 2026
Public health groups are seeking to intervene in industry's lawsuit challenging the Obama OSHA's May 2016 final rule overhauling the agency's worker injury and illness reporting program, charging the Trump administration likely will not defend a provision calling for public disclosure of injury data, which the groups say is mandatory.
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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has completed review of a Trump administration proposed rule widely expected to weaken an Obama OSHA regulation that strengthened protections for worker exposure to beryllium, possibly by stripping the construction and maritime industries from the rule's scope.
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A coalition of environmental and public interest groups are challenging EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's recently-issued rule delaying for an additional 20 months the agency's Obama-era facility safety regulation, and appear slated to argue that the lengthy delay violates federal law and will put workers and communities at risk of future disasters.
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Chemical industry groups are urging NIOSH to clarify that a draft chemicals classification guide that allows users to assess workers' risks to substances that lack exposure limits with limited data will not be used to strengthen standards for other chemicals or replace OSHA standards, though a labor group says the process could inform future regulation.
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Labor unions are defending their claim that they have a right to intervene in an industry lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's final rule updating the agency's worker injury and illness reporting regulation, fearing the Trump administration will not adequately represent their interests in a rule that provides “specific, new rights” for workers.
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EPA is suggesting it plans to make significant changes to an Obama-era facility safety rule, arguing in its announcement delaying the regulation for an additional 20 months that the rule is based on “policy preferences” that could vary between administrations, and that the agency intends to raise concerns with the rule not cited in industry petitions.
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Building and insulation companies are opposing California's proposed listing of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) products as a “priority product” for review under the state's landmark green chemistry program, charging it is unwarranted and that they already comply with OSHA rules, though environmentalists say those rules fail to adequately protect workers.
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EPA has sent for White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) pre-publication review a final rule that will delay by more than a year the effective date for the Obama-era rule overhauling the agency's facility accident prevention rule, which could give the Trump EPA sufficient time to revise controversial aspects of the regulation.
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Labor Secretary Alex Acosta is promising that OSHA will balance enforcement with an increased focus on compliance assistance, pushing back on House Democrats' assertions that drastic cuts to the Labor Department (DOL) would harm worker safety, but he again sidestepped a request to commit to enforcing the Obama OSHA's silica rule.
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Industry attorneys are detailing a strategy for securing new interpretations of OSHA rules that are favorable to employers and suggesting a slew of policies as possible targets, arguing that President Donald Trump's deregulatory orders and a recent court ruling create a favorable environment for such requests.
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Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a top Senate Democrat on worker issues, is urging Labor Secretary Alex Acosta to reverse OSHA's recent decision to rescind an Obama-era guidance clarifying that workers may invite a union representative to join agency inspectors on non-union job sites, continuing Democrats' opposition to the Trump administration's scaling back of OSHA rules and policies.
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Following Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's confirmation, industry attorneys see the chance to push for scaling back Obama-era OSHA policies, citing the recent delay of an injury reporting obligation and repeal of a controversial inspection policy as signaling a shift toward OSHA promoting employers' interests even if the process happens slowly.
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OSHA is opposing labor unions' request to intervene in an industry lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's final rule updating the agency's worker injury and illness reporting program, arguing unions failed to show that OSHA will not defend the rule in court to give them standing -- but suggesting a possible weakening of the policy.
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Chemical and other industry organizations are sparring with labor groups over whether EPA has Clean Air Act authority for its delay of an Obama-era facility safety rule, with industry claiming the agency has “virtually unfettered discretion” for the move but labor arguing the air law's compliance mandates undermine the delay.
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Nanomaterials users and producers are faulting EPA's draft guidance for implementing its nano reporting rule for failing to clarify which substances are covered by the regulation, vowing to highlight their concerns in comments on the policy but also renewing their push to repeal the entire rule either administratively or through litigation.
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Industry groups are faulting the Obama EPA for not consulting with OSHA prior to proposing restrictions on certain uses of the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) and two paint stripping chemicals, saying that violates the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), though environmentalists say OSHA rules fail to adequately address the substances' risks.
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Democratic senators are urging the Labor Department's (DOL) Inspector General (IG) to investigate the Trump administration's recent delays of Obama-era OSHA rules that bolster limits for worker exposures to beryllium and silica, suggesting the delays cave to industry pressure, and that the administration may never fully implement the rules.
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President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2018 budget request largely spares OSHA from drastic cuts proposed across the federal government, but dramatically slashes funding for NIOSH and proposes to eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which also seek to promote worker safety in various ways.
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Obama era OSHA chief David Michaels is backing labor and other groups' suit challenging the legality of President Donald Trump's executive order (EO) that calls for repealing two rules for every new one, arguing the directive is incompatible with OSHA's statutory obligation to protect workers and creates an “unworkable situation” for the agency.
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