OSHA's enforcement activities across the country as well as its efforts in Washington to advance or wrap up rulemaking efforts in several key areas would be severely hobbled by House Republican proposals to slash the agency's budget by nearly 18 percent for the rest of this fiscal year, and the cuts would reduce staffing to 1970s levels, OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Jordan Barab told Inside OSHA Online in an exclusive interview.
September 16, 2026
OSHA has been reviewing whether any of its regulations duplicate efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency as part of an administration-wide regulatory review effort prompted by the White House, but has yet to identify any regulatory overlap even though some hazards -- such as asbestos, lead and noise -- are overseen by both agencies, a top OSHA official told Inside OSHA Online in an exclusive interview.
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An administrative law judge (ALJ) has upheld an OSHA citation under the OSH Act general duty clause over an alleged crowd management hazard, possibly setting up a protracted legal battle over the agency's increased reliance on its broad authority in cases where the agency has no specific standards. The judge rejected arguments by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., against use of the clause, which was cited following a worker death in November 2008.
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State OSHA plans are balking at provisions added to House Democrats' latest version of the Protecting America's Workers Act (PAWA) that would shift review powers to the secretary of Labor in cases where federal OSHA wants to assert concurrent jurisdiction over OSH Act enforcement, sources say.
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OSHA is working behind the scenes with state public health officials to develop a formal arrangement under which state agencies would routinely share workplace data and make site referrals for use by federal OSHA in its inspection and standard-setting efforts, sources say. The concept, which an official involved called a “milestone,” emerged from a two-day meeting in Washington earlier this month.
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The Labor Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) is in the midst of completing an audit of federal OSHA's evaluations of state plans, an OIG spokesman confirmed to Inside OSHA Online. The study is planned for completion by the end of this month with a report due out by April.
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Several Capitol Hill staffers have already voiced their support for maintaining funding levels for two NIOSH education and research programs that would be eliminated under the Obama administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2012, a government affairs source closely following the issue told Inside OSHA Online.
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Business groups are protesting any efforts on OSHA's part to issue a wide-ranging injury and illness prevention program rule (I2P2) as the agency develops an early draft proposal expected to be available for public review in the next few months, expressing renewed concern about the scope of the rulemaking. But labor organizations suggested that their industry adversaries are trying to use the issue to drum up broader opposition to workplace regulation.
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Comprehensive OSHA reform filed again this year could potentially be broken into pieces, such as tougher whistleblower protections, to make it easier for crucial provisions to pass the newly divided Congress, a key Democratic lawmaker said. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) recently introduced a more stringent version of the Protecting America's Workers Act (PAWA) that beefs up agency enforcement powers, but acknowledged in an exclusive interview with Inside OSHA Online that the revised bill faces even higher hurdles in a Republican-dominated House.
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OSHA's newly issued final rule on procedures for handling whistleblower retaliation complaints under the Energy Reorganization Act and six environmental statutes will make it easier for complainants to get their cases filed but also toughen their burden of proof to appeal an administrative law judge's decision, experts say.
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OSHA and two other federal agencies are in the midst of compiling lists of significant violations on which to train inspectors from all three agencies as part of an information-sharing program involving OSHA, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to an FDA official. A training program is expected to be launched within the next few months, the official said.
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A House bill that would require affirmative congressional approval of major new executive branch regulations faces opposition on many fronts from a group of legal experts who argue that the legislation would allow Congress to arbitrate rules when it lacks technical expertise; is undemocratic and allows Congress to evade responsibility for laws it passes; and tinkers with a regulatory system that may be flawed but has produced much public good over the years.
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A Texan House Democrat has resumed his long-standing push to compel OSHA to issue a rule that could require site-controlling employers to keep records of incidents even if they don't directly employ the workers. Rep. Gene Green, who is from a Houston district where there are numerous petrochemical facilities and other employers with multiple site contractors – told Inside OSHA Online that he refiled his bill to keep the issue in the spotlight and hopes it will eventually be melded into OSHA reform legislation.
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House Republicans and some business groups are eyeing drastic changes to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the landmark law that governs how OSHA and other agencies conduct rulemakings, including setting a stricter legal standard for agency rulemakings and requiring greater use of "formal hearings" in the regulatory process.
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U.S Chemical Safety Board officials worry that potential funding reductions over the next year could cause the board to cut back on investigations, a move CSB has so far avoided despite new investigative responsibilities linked to the British Petroleum incidents.
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A key safety organization, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), is calling on OSHA to develop a National Emphasis Program (NEP) on noise controls, saying the move would also allow the agency to collect data on workplace hearing loss to bolster support for greater reliance on engineering and administrative controls. The group is also suggesting NIOSH help collect noise exposure data. OSHA recently backed away from a planned reinterpretation of noise control policy that would have resulted in greater reliance on engineering and noise controls after employers cried foul.
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The U.S Chemical Safety Board (CSB) may have to deal with funding reductions in the next year, depending on how federal budget talks transpire, though a top agency official noted that the short-term continuing resolution (CR) passed by the House and Senate this week maintains 2010 funding levels.
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NIOSH's top supporters are gearing up for a budget battle over both the remainder of fiscal year 2011 and the annual appropriations starting in fiscal 2012, as the research agency faces both proposed deep funding cuts from the administration and a tougher stance on spending issues on Capitol Hill. NIOSH will likely have to deal with an immediate budget crunch, sources say, and possibly the termination of some programs starting next year.
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OSHA's planned rulemaking to establish new standards limiting crystalline silica exposure -- a proposal the agency just recently sent to the White House for preliminary review -- will almost certainly lead to lengthy legal challenges, whether from industries concerned about the new restrictions or from labor unions contending that the agency has not afforded a high enough level of protection, sources in both camps told Inside OSHA Online.
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A long-running controversy over whether OSHA protections should cover flight attendants has re-emerged in this year's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, with the issue one of the likely sticking points between House and Senate negotiators.
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