Industry officials are urging OSHA to extend an early December comment deadline on a portion of a proposed rule that seeks to expand when the agency's safety standard applies to power equipment that is shut off during repair work, charging the plan raises procedural and cost concerns, though one lawyer says the Trump administration will likely block the change.
September 17, 2026
The Obama administration's novel decision to conditionally register a nanosilver pesticide while mitigating risks to exposed workers faced a series of questions from a panel of appellate judges during recent oral argument on whether the agency could prove that its registration would not result in increased releases or is in the public interest.
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The Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Inspector General (IG) is again criticizing OSHA's measures for demonstrating that its inspections are improving compliance with its rules, as well as worker health and safety, providing ammunition for a widely expected rollback of agency rules and enforcement under a Donald Trump administration.
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Construction industry groups are urging a federal appeals court to vacate OSHA's recent overhaul of its silica standards because the agency failed to provide evidence that the rule is needed or is feasible, an argument that if successful would bolster a widely expected push by the incoming Trump administration to rollback President Obama's signature worker safety rule.
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Chemical industry officials are "hopeful" that incoming Trump officials will drop Obama administration plans to issue a trio of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6(a) rules to ban or further restrict chemicals that harm workers, undercutting efforts to exercise the once-rare authority over “existing” chemicals.
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State regulators are seeking to delay by one year implementation of a rule that seeks to harmonize EPA's farmworker protection standards (WPS) with OSHA requirements, arguing the agency failed to finalize adequate training and enforcement guidance for the rule and that the extra time is vital to provide that assistance.
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As OSHA embarks on a rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), chemical and agricultural sector officials are seeking a series of exemptions from the standard, including reduced requirements for certain shipments and for small packages, among others.
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OSHA is urging a federal court in Texas to dismiss a small business group's lawsuit seeking to block its 2013 memo interpreting federal law as allowing union representatives to accompany agency inspectors onto non-unionized work sites, arguing plaintiffs have failed to show harm, and that the agency's interpretation is entitled deference.
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Industry attorneys, including a former George W. Bush OSHA chief, expect that President-elect Donald Trump will significantly reduce OSHA enforcement efforts, by limiting future penalty increases, tightening the window for repeat violations, and putting the agency's severe violator enforcement program (SVEP) on the “chopping block.”
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OSHA has issued guidance detailing steps small construction firms must take to comply with the agency's final rule strengthening its silica standards, signaling agency plans to advance the rule's implementation despite an industry legal challenge and expected pushback from President-elect Donald Trump's administration and Republican lawmakers.
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Environmentalists are pressing departing Obama administration officials to strengthen EPA's upcoming final rule revising its facility safety regulation even as the measure faces a growing threat that the next Congress, backed by President Donald Trump, will eliminate the rule under privileged processes guaranteed by the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
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Several industry attorneys say President-elect Donald Trump will likely seek to roll back many OSHA rules issued under the Obama administration, though it is unclear when Trump's administration will start that effort and which of the wide range of tools it will employ, given Trump's lack of specific statements on OSHA during the campaign, and other priorities.
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President-elect Donald Trump's experience as a real estate developer makes OSHA a likely early target for the new administration's efforts to roll back regulation, including a possible moratorium on new rules, efforts to repeal recently-issued ones, and return to a Bush-era focus on workplace safety compliance assistance over increased regulation, according to an industry attorney.
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OSHA is asking the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the recent three-judge panel ruling that vacated the agency's controversial 2015 policy narrowing an exemption from its process safety management (PSM) standard for retailers.
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OSHA is widely expected to appeal the recent federal court ruling that it unlawfully targeted a poultry processing plant for an expanded inspection, opening the door to a broader precedent that would either give companies new authority to resist broader inspections, according to industry, or affirm the agency's discretion to protect workers, labor advocates say.
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OSHA and labor unions are praising EPA's proposed rule seeking to align EPA requirements for new uses of industrial chemicals with strict OSHA measures, but a chemical industry group argues that EPA's proposed language goes farther than OSHA's own requirements and should be curtailed.
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A federal district court has blocked OSHA's plan for an expanded inspection of a poultry processing facility because the agency's sectoral enforcement program arbitrarily and unfairly targeted the plant for inspection beyond the circumstances of a reported incident -- a ruling that could limit OSHA inspection authority under its emphasis programs.
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Industry groups are citing a series of rulings from courts within the 5th Circuit blocking Obama administration priorities on immigration, sex discrimination and procurement to urge a federal judge in Texas to grant their requests for a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking OSHA's new worker injury reporting rule.
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EPA is facing calls from lawmakers, labor groups and the vehicle equipment manufacturers to use its new regulatory authority under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to classify asbestos, flame retardants and several other controversial chemicals as the first 10 high priority chemicals to target under the law to better protect workers and others.
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OSHA has submitted for White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review a draft request for information (RFI) that will seek data from the public to help determine whether the agency should craft a violence-prevention standard for the healthcare sector, a measure congressional Democrats and labor unions are seeking.
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