OSHA's top officials have yet to outline specific administrative changes that could be under way as a result of a broad internal review of the whistleblower protection program (WPP), even as the agency reveals plans to revamp the beleaguered effort through a dedicated line item within its budget in the next fiscal year and to direct millions of dollars more to WPP enforcement.
September 16, 2026
OSHA’s “top-to-bottom” review of its whistleblower program offers a slew of recommendations designed to improve the program, but many of the agency's proposals do not directly address issues raised by the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General. However, the Obama administration, in its fiscal 2012 budget request for OSHA, proposes $21 million specifically for the whistleblower program, which includes $6 million in new funding and 45 whistleblower investigators, but is vague on how the extra money would be spent.
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OSHA's internal union has raised legal concerns about the agency's proposal to rely heavily on the expertise of outside contractors in order to expedite development of workplace safety and health standards, possibly reigniting a controversy first sparked by a Bush administration move to mete out tasks to private companies instead of federal employees.
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A nearly 18 percent cut in OSHA's budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 as proposed by the Republican House majority would block the agency's efforts to issue new health and safety regulations in the short term, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told lawmakers, as she also warned of a steep drop in OSHA inspections and a spike in workplace injuries as probable results if the House-passed continuing resolution becomes law. The agency could be forced to cut perhaps 415 new hires, which would include 200 inspectors and 17 whistleblower investigators, Solis said.
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) intends to introduce next week a one month continuing resolution to fund the government at fiscal 2010 levels through the end of March, while the GOP-led House passed a long-term spending bill that would cut OSHA's budget by 18 percent through September.
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A bill filed by House Democrats to mandate that OSHA issue stopgap combustible dust workplace safety regulations -- then proceed with a final rulemaking to address the issue -- mirrors legislation that got through the chamber nearly three years ago but stalled in the Senate. The proposal’s strongest backers in the labor community acknowledge that it faces an uphill climb this time around in the GOP-led House.
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A key industrial hygiene group has come out in support of a controversial noise control policy that was recently withdrawn by OSHA after employers complained it would force them to institute costly engineering and administrative controls. The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has pledged to offer additional technical information as the agency agrees to hear more from stakeholders on the issue.
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House GOP plans to make deep cuts to the OSHA budget and scale back the agency's regulatory reach – as part of the party's proposed sweeping reduction in federal spending over the rest of fiscal year 2011 and government-wide regulatory reforms – have union officials and worker safety advocates galvanized in their opposition. OSHA supporters were bolstered, however by the Obama administration's decision to seek a budget increase for the agency in fiscal 2012, and are gearing up for a possible funding battle between the Democratic controlled Senate and GOP House on the issue.
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President Barack Obama’s budget blueprint for the Labor Department includes a $6.4 million hike to beef up OSHA’s standards and guidance in fiscal year 2012, as part of nearly $25 million in total increases proposed for the agency -- with the top OSHA regulatory item, injury and illness prevention programs, a key beneficiary. Other top priorities for the increased regulatory activity are combustible dust, infectious diseases, walking and working surfaces, hazard communication and silica, OSHA chief David Michaels stated in a Web chat.
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OSHA appears to have renewed its commitment to voluntary protection programs (VPP) and taxpayer funding for the efforts, at least for the time being, stakeholders say, as the White House unveiled plans Monday to restore voluntary program funds in a proposed budget that increases total OSHA spending by nearly $25 million in fiscal year 2012, hiking agency funds to $583 million.
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Industry groups strongly back a House GOP proposal to broaden the scope of federal agencies' small business regulatory review procedures to analyze potential economic ripple effects on small entities not necessarily covered by the standards being analyzed, in what would amount to a substantial change in how OSHA and other agencies evaluate the impact of their regulations.
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Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the ranking Republican on the Senate environment committee, says Congress may need to consider a piecemeal approach to reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) if upcoming bipartisan talks on broadly reforming the law are unable to lead to a deal that can pass both chambers. TSCA reform has also been considered by some as a vehicle for OSHA reform.
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A Republican-backed bill that would greatly expand congressional power to block economically high-stakes regulations by the executive branch -- and which critics say threatens the ability of agencies such as OSHA to issue health and safety rules independently -- has growing momentum on Capitol Hill, observers say.
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A key organization of safety experts bolstered the general concept of OSHA's proposed rulemaking to mandate workplace injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) in a direct appeal to Capitol Hill, responding to numerous concerns industry groups brought to the new Republican-dominated House on the scope and implications of the agency's plan to move ahead with the effort.
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House Republicans are ready to take a big swing with the spending ax to Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education funds for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, setting a target to cut 4 percent from current spending levels and 8 percent from the president's request as part of yet another continuing resolution (CR) – with the impact on the relatively small OSHA budget within Labor still unclear.
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Industry is strongly pushing a renewed effort among policy makers on Capitol Hill to reaffirm the mission and funding of OSHA voluntary protection programs (VPP), with sources predicting a Senate bill to protect the program from Obama budget cuts is almost certainly going to be filed again this year. Proponents argue chances for passage of such legislation have increased because of the mid-term elections.
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Organized labor officials are expressing disappointment but not much surprise after the state's newly elected Republican governor scrapped an ergonomics rulemaking effort that was years in the making and could have made the state OSHA plan one of the few to tackle enforcement of the contentious issue.
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House GOP lawmakers plan to explore a wide range of OSHA issues – including ergonomics enforcement, injury and illness prevention programs and noise control – as they exercise their oversight role, and hope to develop a “working relationship” with the agency that keeps them in the loop on regulatory and policy plans, the new chair of the House workforce protections subcommittee told Inside OSHA Online in an exclusive interview.
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The House workforce protections subcommittee will likely hold a hearing on OSHA’s plans, now temporarily pulled, to restore a column for musculoskeletal disorders to injury and illness recordkeeping logs, the panel’s new chairman told Inside OSHA Online in an exclusive interview Wednesday. The hearing could be combined with an inquiry into OSHA's noise control plans, the lawmaker said.
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OSHA has decided to temporarily withdraw its controversial plan to restore an MSD column to employer injury and illness logs in its second major policy retreat in the past week, the agency revealed late Tuesday. The surprise move comes just days after the agency backed off its contentious plan to require stricter hearing loss prevention measures and the White House ordered federal agencies to root out overly burdensome regulations.
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