An industry attorney is casting doubt on the prospects that expected legal challenges will succeed in blocking OSHA's new electronic record-keeping and reporting rule for worker injuries, noting the agency has broad authority to require record-keeping.
September 17, 2026
Construction industry and labor groups are raising competing arguments in their lawsuits challenging OSHA's recent overhaul of its silica standards with labor groups arguing that the agency's long-awaited rule failed to go far enough to protect workers, and industry saying the agency has failed to adequately justify risk estimates underpinning the rule.
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A federal appeals court has stayed the chemical industry's challenge to OSHA's controversial memo for determining whether a chemical is present in sufficient concentrations that a facility is subject to its process safety management (PSM) standards so the parties can continue ongoing settlement talks.
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Civil rights and health and safety advocates who have sought to strengthen OSHA's controversial forthcoming guide to assist federal agencies in weighing labor violations in contract decisions are pressing White House officials for a strong final guide that assures advocates have an avenue for assisting in reporting contractors' violations to federal officials.
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The Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Inspector General (IG), in a new report to Congress, says it has “significant concern” about OSHA's ability to protect worker health and safety because the agency's enforcement officials can reach “only a fraction” of work sites.
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The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is urging federal regulators to improve safety on offshore oil and gas drilling rigs by collecting and publicly sharing facility data on incidents that suggest accident risk, echoing advocates' calls to improve safety through greater disclosure.
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With average temperatures rising as a result of climate change, a top OSHA official is warning employers to ensure they take adequate precautions to protect their workers from heat-related injury or death, or face risk of enforcement actions and penalties.
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Despite a threatened veto from the White House, the Senate appears slated to join the House in adopting legislation that would gut OSHA's plan for implementing President Obama's directive that the agency consider government contractors' records of workplace violations in granting contracts.
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Industry groups are laying out a multi-part strategy aimed at stymieing -- and eventually rewriting -- OSHA's recently finalized electronic recordkeeping and reporting rule, signaling the measure will face significant opposition in Congress and the courts as the Obama administration prepares to leave office in the coming months.
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EPA is defending its process for overhauling its risk management plan (RMP) facility safety program, rejecting Republican lawmakers' requests to extend the public comment period and downplaying claims that the policy will impose unfunded mandates on emergency responders.
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House lawmakers appear poised to vote by wide margins May 24 to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time in 40 years, after lawmakers made late changes to the legislation that won support from top Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
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OSHA is planning to advance several dozen rules and proposed rules in the coming year, ranging from measures to protect workers from slips, trips and falls, industrial facility accidents and exposure to numerous toxic chemicals, according to a federal rulemaking docket.
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A top OSHA official is pushing back against industry plans to delay implementation of the agency's new rule limiting silica exposures in workplaces, calling recent industry appeals court challenges to the rule an “expected” consequence of any major OSHA rule, and saying the lawsuits are unlikely to stall OSHA's implementation of the new standards.
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Democratic Senate supporters of a compromise bill to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are discussing potential further changes ahead of floor votes on the legislation to win over Democratic lawmakers that currently oppose the measure, including tweaks to provisions on when states' chemicals programs would be preempted.
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OSHA's recent deal that ended petrochemical industry litigation over its controversial enforcement policy that requires companies to use defined “engineering practices” to comply with the agency's process safety management (PSM) standards may aid ongoing talks aimed at resolving a similar dispute over OSHA's policy for determining when company's concentrations of certain chemicals in mixtures subject them to PSM requirements, an industry lawyer says.
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House lawmakers supporting the just-announced Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform bill say they have enough bipartisan backing to advance the bill to President Obama for his signature without having to make changes to appease some House Democrats who now oppose it and claim it is weaker than current law.
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Health and safety advocates are urging OSHA to issue new rules to protect workers from exposure to nanomaterials used to process food and agricultural chemicals, and to prioritize research on preventing worker exposures, arguing their report finding nanomaterials in baby formula also raises risks for workers who may inhale particles during production.
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EPA and a government employee whistleblower group are asking a federal appeals court to hold in abeyance a lawsuit seeking a formal response from EPA on a petition the group filed to tighten federal hazardous waste handling and storage requirements for corrosive dust.
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OSHA's plan to codify its controversial enforcement policy that narrows a long-standing exemption from its process safety management (PSM) standard for retailers is prompting strong criticism from industry groups in Congress and the courts, suggesting continuing battles over the issue.
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House Democrats are urging Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), the ranking Democrat on the House energy committee, to resolve an apparent dispute over language suggested by senators for a compromise Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform bill that aims to limit toxicity testing on animals, the latest potential barrier to Congress advancing a final bill.
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