A new report from Congress' investigative arm sharply criticizes OSHA's oversight of its own enforcement efforts, saying the agency needs to standardize its audit practices and better use data from its audits, and suggests the agency apply the level of oversight to state plans that it applies to the enforcement of federal standards.
Two Maryland state lawmakers have filed a bill -- pushed by the advocacy group Public Citizen -- to weigh the safety records of construction companies seeking state work as a prequalification in the bidding process.
Federal budget officials say OSHA will take a hit of roughly $28 million in spending cuts through the remainder of fiscal 2013 as long as sequestration remains in place.
Public Citizen is launching a campaign to pressure OSHA to consider stronger worker protections in the health care sector -- including an expansion of the bloodborne pathogen standard and addressing ergonomic issues -- with details to emerge in the coming months, a source with the group tells Inside OSHA Online.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD), ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, on Tuesday (Feb. 26) decried Republicans' move to block a Democratic measure to replace the budget sequester.
A federal judge has dismissed in large part an American Chemistry Council (ACC) lawsuit claiming the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) failed to provide documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), ruling that research data ACC requested on a study the department used to classify formaldehyde as a carcinogen is publicly available.
Washington insiders are bracing for across-the-board funding cuts to go into effect March 1 for at least one month while lawmakers work toward a government funding measure to replace the continuing resolution that expires at the end of March and also address the sequester.
OSHA has gained White House backing to reprogram agency funding in order to avoid furloughing workers if the budget sequestration kicks in March 1, agency chief David Michaels states in an internal memo, obtained by Inside OSHA Online.
Worker safety advocates have launched a petition campaign urging the White House to release OSHA's proposed silica rule for public comment, which would be the next crucial phase in moving the controversial regulation forward.
Lawmakers will likely reintroduce broad legislation to overhaul the OSH Act, which failed to gain traction earlier in Congress, with most provisions of the earlier bill intact, a source familiar with the issue tells Inside OSHA Online.
Officials with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) were on Capitol Hill in early February trying to persuade members of Congress to maintain steady funding levels for OSHA and NIOSH in the face of the current budget crisis.
The Labor Department estimates that roughly 1,200 fewer programmed OSHA inspections would take place if the government-wide budget sequester kicks in March 1, and warns that state plans would also take an inspection hit.
A joint study by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) and Cal/OSHA raises concerns about pipe corrosion leading to worker safety hazards in the petrochemical industry.
Arizona officials are bucking federal OSHA's call for the state to revise its fall protection standards for residential construction, leaving up in the air what next steps the federal agency may take.
The grain industry has reached a favorable outcome following talks with OSHA over the agency's controversial interpretation of its safety policies for the use of sweep augers in grain bins, clearing up longstanding confusion surrounding the issue through a settlement with the agency.
OSHA chief David Michaels indicated at a closed-door meeting with OSHA staff that he will stay in the agency's top post, ending weeks of speculation about whether he would continue leading the agency or return to his professor role at George Washington University. Michaels is the first assistant secretary at OSHA to serve into a president's second term. Michaels also reiterated his resolve to continue pushing injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) as a key rulemaking initiative.
The White House warned Friday (Feb. 8) that a budget sequester would cause deep cuts to OSHA and force the agency to pull its inspectors off the job “for some period of time.” The spending cuts, if allowed to kick in March 1, would lead to roughly 1,200 fewer inspections of the nation’s most dangerous workplaces, the administration says in a fact sheet highlighting the potential harmful effects of a sequester.
The Senate Judiciary Committee leadership has created a new subcommittee charged with oversight of federal agencies, including rulemaking and adjudication, as well as third-party enforcement of federal rights and weeding out government waste and abuse.
OSHA is seeking public input on proposed interim policies for its Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) program in the face of calls from congressional investigators that the accrediting process for testing labs be streamlined.
President Obama's call Tuesday (Feb. 5) for Congress to again temporarily delay the budget sequester set to kick in next month by passing a package of spending cuts and revenue raisers is scant on specifics, but the president said the mini-package should draw from the fiscal cliff offer he put on the table in December. With the situation still unresolved it's unclear how the potential cuts could affect OSHA.