The California State Auditor is finding major problems and deficiencies with the state OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) inspection and enforcement efforts, including closing complaints and accident reports without conducting on-site inspections, carrying out inadequate inspections, failing to ensure problems are fixed, and assessing inadequate fines.
September 16, 2026
The Labor Department (DOL) is touting new and expanded programs aimed at helping employers improve their compliance with federal health and safety laws, saying these self-audit programs aim to enhance worker protections while reducing the likelihood of formal investigations or litigation.
Date:
Attorneys are urging employers to closely examine the state of machine guarding in their facilities and thoroughly evaluate their lockout/tagout (LOTO) programs ahead of any potential OSHA inspection under a renewed emphasis program focused on preventing amputations in manufacturing workplaces.
Date:
A federal district court judge has rejected for the second time South Carolina’s attempt to prevent OSHA from requiring states to match annual increases to federal minimum and maximum OSH Act penalties, agreeing with the agency that the state failed to provide a viable claim and that some claims were time-barred.
Date:
The Labor Department (DOL) is urging a federal district court to dismiss a New Jersey steel company’s lawsuit raising a series of constitutional and statutory claims against the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), arguing none have merit.
Date:
Republicans on a House appropriations panel have advanced to the full committee a funding bill for EPA and related agencies that funds the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) despite the Trump administration’s proposal to zero it out.
Date:
House and Senate Democrats have introduced legislation seeking to force OSHA to issue a federal heat injury and illness standard and to explicitly authorize the agency to update the standard as technology improves or heat-related hazards worsen.
Date:
Republican House lawmakers used a July 16 hearing to tout OSHA’s long-standing Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) and highlight renewed efforts to codify VPP, while Democrats emphasized the need for continued enforcement of mandatory rules and decried the Trump administration’s deregulatory focus.
Date:
OSHA’s announcement of significant changes to its enforcement policy that expand the scope of employers eligible for penalty reductions is drawing mixed reactions, with employer attorneys noting it is one of the most employer-friendly shifts in recent years while labor advocates are warning of more injuries, illnesses and deaths.
Date:
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) is seeking an additional 60 days to review 17 regulatory proposals the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) published in the Federal Register earlier this month, saying the agency’s 30-day comment period is not enough time to provide meaningful input.
Date:
Employer-focused attorneys are ramping up warnings about the potential impacts to companies that will be required to comply with California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) legislatively mandated expansion of workplace violence-prevention rules, a draft of which is being scrutinized ahead of a July 14 comment period deadline.
Date:
ExxonMobil Corp. is urging a federal appeals court to overturn an OSHA enforcement action related to improper recordkeeping for failing to properly log work-related mental illnesses, arguing the action was arbitrary, contravened due process and exceeded the limits of OSHA’s statutory authority.
Date:
Industry and employer groups are charging that California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) officials are exceeding the requirements of a 2022 state law in proposing changes to the agency’s indoor and outdoor heat illness-prevention rules, including by tightening certain thresholds for when employers must take special actions to protect employees.
Date:
A coalition of environmental groups is urging OSHA and EPA to penalize four dispersant manufacturers for not accurately reporting the detrimental harms their products can have on workers, the public and the environment in their safety data sheets as part of right-to-know laws.
Date:
While OSHA may still opt against finalizing a national heat standard, some observers believe the agency is looking to find middle ground on requirements that could be palatable to both employers and workers, especially because a federal rule would preempt state actions and prevent a more prescriptive approach in the future.
Date:
South Carolina is asking a federal district court to grant its motion for summary judgment in a long-running challenge to an Obama-era rule requiring states to match annual increases to federal minimum and maximum OSH Act penalties, while acknowledging that OSHA’s bid to dismiss the case is still pending.
Date:
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) is alerting businesses that for the first time, domestic workers employed by companies in California, such as housecleaners, caregivers and gardeners, will be covered by state workplace safety and health laws effective July 1.
Date:
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is seeking to eliminate a number of regulatory provisions that allow district managers to require additional safety measures beyond those specified in regulation as part of a group of proposals to remove outdated or duplicative provisions.
Date:
OSHA is proposing to eliminate dozens of regulatory requirements that it says are outdated, duplicative or improperly inflexible, including changing its interpretation of the General Duty Clause to exclude from enforcement known hazards that are inherent and inseparable from the core nature of a professional activity or performance.
Date:
The Trump administration’s plan to slash funding for OSHA and other federal agencies tasked with worker protection is drawing concerns from Democratic lawmakers, who have questioned how less money can lead to better outcomes, and worker advocates who argue the cuts are threats to all workers.
Date: