The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently confirmed that a judicial stay of Biden-era silica standards remains in effect while the agency engages in “limited rulemaking” to reconsider the 2024 rule, although legal experts note uncertainty over MSHA’s future actions remains.
September 16, 2026
OSHA has issued a revised version of its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for heat-related hazards after allowing a Biden-era version of the NEP to lapse, cutting the overall number of industries targeted by the program and removing a mandate to increase inspections.
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California lawmakers are advancing a bill to require California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to develop new rules to protect outdoor workers from “transboundary” pollution -- specifically hazards posed by untreated sewage and industrial wastewater that cross the border from Baja California in Mexico.
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OSHA has allowed the Biden-era heat National Emphasis Program (NEP) to expire even as it remains unclear when or if the agency will finalize a national heat illness and injury standard, although legal experts note that even without the NEP, OSHA could still take enforcement action under the General Duty Clause.
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is asking Congress for $348.2 million in fiscal year 2027, a $37.6 million cut from FY26 enacted levels of $378.8 million, while emphasizing increased investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and other actions to make the agency more efficient.
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OSHA is proposing to remove a deadline for certain fixed ladders to be equipped with personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems and is seeking comment on repealing or revising the requirement, after industry groups petitioned the agency to “grandfather” already-installed fixed ladders with cages or wells.
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The Labor Department is proposing a $46.9 million cut to OSHA’s overall budget in fiscal year 2027 while emphasizing increased investment in compliance assistance programs and in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics that the agency says will allow it to use its limited resources more effectively.
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Employers and worker-safety groups are providing final comments on California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) proposal to update its workplace inspection “walkaround” rules governing in part who can serve as employee representatives during visits, with some calling for a pause to the process until litigation over federal OSHA’s walkaround rule is resolved.
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OSHA’s construction-sector advisory panel is rejecting key deregulatory measures the agency is planning for the sector, unanimously opposing a plan to rescind the construction illumination standard while narrowly opposing plans to eliminate medical evaluation requirements for certain respirators and make changes to chemical-specific standards.
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The D.C. Circuit has dismissed the Labor Department’s (DOL) attempt to preserve broad authority over enforcement of mine safety standards, finding it lacks jurisdiction to hear a pair of consolidated cases on the issue because the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) has not yet issued final decisions.
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Two labor unions have dropped their challenges to a Biden-era TSCA rule phasing out most uses of the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE), saying their concerns are better addressed through a planned rulemaking but that they will remain in the consolidated litigation as intervenors supporting the agency.
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D.C. Circuit judges focused their questions at March 30 oral argument on case-specific issues in an oil and gas drilling specialty contractor’s challenge to an OSHA citation stemming from a 2022 accident where a pipe ruptured at a gas well in south Texas, rather than engage with the firm’s broader challenge to the General Duty Clause.
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued its first-ever corporate disclosure policy encouraging criminal violators to come forward and win “rewards” for self-disclosing wrongdoing, a shift that better aligns with the Trump administration’s broader compliance stance at OSHA and other agencies, industry attorneys say.
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As the Trump administration works to revise Biden-era TSCA risk management rules for carbon tetrachloride (CTC or CCl4) and perchloroethylene (perc or PCE), EPA is proposing to extend compliance deadlines for workplace exposure requirements until June 2027.
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A California lawmaker is pursuing legislation to require the Cal/OSHA standards board to adopt new standards to protect outdoor workers from “transboundary” pollution, citing hazards posed by untreated sewage and industrial wastewater that crosses the border from Baja California in Mexico.
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A coalition of construction sector groups is urging OSHA to allow formal comment on any recommendations that an agency advisory group may make on several pending deregulatory proposals, including medical evaluation requirements in respiratory protection and specific chemical rules.
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A former Energy Department (DOE) employee with extensive background in worker safety and health is urging officials to withdraw a proposed rule aimed at expediting the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, arguing the proposal does not provide the level of safety the law requires for DOE contractor workers.
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New Mexico is proposing to strengthen its proposed heat illness and injury prevention rule by adding a new section on presumption of violation, advancing the measure ahead of its formal adoption later this year, the latest in a growing number of such state regulations while the future of an OSHA heat standard remains uncertain.
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OSHA is touting the launch of its new OSHA Cares compliance assistance initiative that it says is focused on helping businesses meet federal workplace safety requirements while also building strong, successful safety and health programs that benefit employers and workers.
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The Trump EPA is defending a Biden-era decision to exclude requirements for chemical exposure disclosures to workers from a TSCA framework rule for conducting pre-market risk reviews of new chemicals, arguing to a federal appeals court that labor unions’ push for such disclosures is outside the scope of the rule.
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