An employer advocacy organization is complimenting California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) for proposing to scale back certain provisions of a long-overdue rule to update the agency’s first-aid kit standard for general industry and construction, including over how “readily available” the kits must be and to what extent vehicles are included.
September 16, 2026
New analysis from the progressive economic think tank Groundwork Collaborative finds OSHA’s failure to enact a national heat standard is contributing to as many as 1,500 worker deaths per year and that the lack of federal action is tied to “regulatory paralysis” driven by coordinated opposition from large business organizations.
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is agreeing with most of the recommendations from the Labor Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) aimed at improving the agency’s preparedness for mine emergencies, though it disputes it violated budgeting law and remains at odds over underground communication systems.
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A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit appeared highly skeptical at recent oral argument of South Carolina’s effort to reinstate litigation challenging OSHA’s authority to require states to match annual increases to federal OSH Act penalties, questioning in part whether the state is making new arguments on appeal.
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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has begun reviewing proposed changes to a Biden-era rule that set first-time respirable crystalline silica standards for coal mines and halved a prior limit for other types of mines, although it remains uncertain how the Trump administration may seek to change the limits.
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EPA’s final TSCA risk evaluation of 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), a key ingredient in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), finds 15 occupational uses of the chemical pose unreasonable risk that must be regulated -- potentially at levels more stringent than OSHA.
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Employer attorneys are finding both beneficial and potentially troublesome changes to California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) proposed workplace violence-prevention standard, including narrowing the breadth of certain situations requiring action by employers but expanding compliance obligations for employer-provided transportation.
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OSHA has scheduled a May 19-20 meeting of its construction-sector advisory panel to continue discussion about the agency’s plan to eliminate several chemical-specific respirator standards, after the panel April 1 recommended OSHA not proceed with the rulemakings until it had more time to consult with the committee.
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The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is petitioning EPA to correct several aspects the agency’s final TSCA risk evaluation for the rubber ingredient 1,3-butadiene (1,3-BD) as part of a broader effort to head off any changes to existing worker protection standards.
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Republican senators have introduced legislation to bar OSHA from finalizing the Biden-era proposal for a national heat standard following a letter to OSHA last month urging the agency to instead focus on “pragmatic solutions for preventing heat-related hazards in the workplaces.”
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OSHA has finalized its removal of the open fires standard from the marine terminals rule, finding the requirement is no longer necessary to protect employees working in marine terminals from occupational safety and health hazards.
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OSHA is announcing changes to the division of enforcement of workplace safety and health between the federal government and Maryland and Puerto Rico, clarifying that OSHA will cover certain private-sector employment in Maryland and reinstating federal coverage of similar private-sector employment in Puerto Rico.
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OSHA’s renewed and revised National Emphasis Program (NEP) for heat hazards is drawing mixed reviews from experts, with employer-focused attorneys noting inspectors will still be able to expand investigations to address heat concerns and worker advocates decrying the lack of numeric inspection targets and other changes.
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California lawmakers are advancing a bill to set up a certification program for stone-cutting fabrication shops to help prevent silicosis that is being opposed by worker-safety groups that believe the practice should be banned, as well as a measure aimed at increasing criminal prosecutions of employers when workers are permanently disabled or die.
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The Labor Department’s (DOL) plan to shift some whistleblower investigators out of OSHA and into a newly created Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is raising questions about the proposal’s practical effects on investigations that may involve more than one statute, as well as how DOL will be able to handle a growing number of complaints.
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Virginia has enacted a law requiring the development of a heat illness standard for indoor and outdoor workers by May 2028, joining a growing list of states that have established or are pursuing state-level heat standards amid uncertainty over whether OSHA will finalize a national standard proposed by the Biden administration.
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A Democratic House lawmaker from Illinois is urging EPA to halt its plan to extend compliance deadlines for workplace exposure requirements for two solvents, arguing the agency’s proposal to extend these deadlines contained in Biden-era TSCA risk management rules will weak protections for workers.
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OSHA has finalized its revocation of the “house falls” in marine terminals standard after it determined the standard is no longer necessary to protect employees working in marine terminals from occupational safety and health hazards -- the first finalization of a score of deregulatory actions the agency proposed last year.
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OSHA is urging a federal district court in Texas to dismiss for a range of procedural grounds a constitutional challenge to the OSH Act brought by a pair of produce groups in the state, or, if the court decides it has jurisdiction, to find that the OSH Act contains an “intelligible principle” and is constitutional.
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California lawmakers are advancing a labor-backed bill to require a comprehensive academic study of California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) chronic “understaffing” and staff position vacancy rate, which would include recommendations on policies the state could pursue to bolster “career pathways” for such positions.
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