Daily News

Unions and environmental groups are asking courts to overturn EPA’s findings on whether workers face “unreasonable risks” from a host of chemicals including asbestos and the solvent methylene chloride, even as the agency itself is wrestling with whether to craft new rules for the substances in addition to OSHA standards.

OSHA is expanding its whistleblower protection program under new statutory authority created in two laws enacted at the end of the Trump administration, including a statute that expanded prohibitions on money laundering and another that created a new anti-retaliation protection for antitrust cases.

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced in a Feb. 19 statement that OSHA has formally begun overseeing complaints filed under the two new laws, known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act respectively.

A California state senator is advancing legislation to bolster California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) enforcement measures to protect workers from COVID-19, provide new tools to hold large employers accountable for workplace health and safety violations, and encourage workers to report unsafe working conditions while preventing employer retaliation.

House Democrats are pushing new legislation to reverse the landmark 2012 court ruling that imposed a strict six-month limit on OSHA’s enforcement of recordkeeping and reporting mandates, following release of a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that blames the decision for a dramatic enforcement drop.

New York is suing Amazon over what it claims is the retail giant’s failure to protect workers from COVID-19 at its facilities in New York City, creating another front in the wide-ranging court battle over whether OSHA’s “primary jurisdiction” over workplace safety preempts states’ enforcement of their pandemic rules.

OSHA is maintaining its defense of a Trump-era decision not to take enforcement action against a Pennsylvania meat-packing plant over conditions workers say pose an “imminent” threat of COVID-19 infection, even as the Biden administration is vowing to pursue stricter workplace safeguards and enforcement during the pandemic.

Amazon is suing New York’s state government to block an enforcement action over COVID-19 exposures at one of its warehouses -- claiming the action is preempted by the OSH Act and further escalating a legal battle over whether states can enforce their pandemic protections in workplaces that OSHA regulates.

Progressive and safety groups are stepping up their push for Congress to reform the OSH Act, including calling for legislation that would allow workers to sue their employers directly over violations of OSHA standards, seeing Democratic control of Congress and the White House as an opportunity to pass new workplace safety legislation.

Jim Tozzi, the first director of the White House Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) that reviews major OSHA rules prior to their publication, is proposing that the Biden administration overhaul the office by increasing its staffing levels and giving OIRA a “proactive” role in helping agencies develop their policies.

Public Citizen claims that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) blocked OSHA from investigating COVID-19 outbreaks at meat-packing plants during the early weeks of the pandemic, touting newly released documents it says show that USDA rejected the agency’s initial outreach and then kept OSHA in a “subservient” role.

Anonymous meat-packing facility workers suing OSHA over its failure to cite their employer for “imminent danger” of COVID-19 infections at their plant say the Biden administration’s new COVID-19 guidance helps their case and are asking a judge to keep the suit alive even after the agency finalized its enforcement findings.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) is outlining an ambitious agenda for the Biden OSHA, including strict COVID-19 workplace standards and increased enforcement, but also a long-term effort to “rebuild” the agency by raising staff levels and reforming the process for crafting new safety standards.

Labor Secretary nominee Marty Walsh said at his Feb. 4 confirmation hearing that OSHA will be one of his “first, top priorities” if confirmed, praised Virginia’s COVID-19 workplace standard and said any federal rule for the pandemic will come with a boost to enforcement, echoing President Joe Biden’s promises for the agency.

President Joe Biden’s choice of a former Labor Department policy official for a top role at the influential White House office charged with reviewing agencies’ regulatory actions could ease approval for strict OSHA regulations, including a workplace COVID-19 standard, as part of a broader shift in how officials conduct those reviews.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is calling for OSHA to tighten its response to COVID-19, especially its oversight and tracking of regional enforcement actions related to the pandemic -- recommendations Trump-era officials rejected but which the agency could revisit under the Biden administration.

OSHA has released a broad new guide for employers to mitigate COVID-19 infection risks in the workplace, its first step toward tightening Trump-era policies for the pandemic following President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring the agency to update its guidance while considering an emergency temporary standard (ETS).

California Attorney General (AG) Xavier Becerra (D) is launching a new section within his division of public rights that will in part bolster enforcement of worker health and safety rules, including of the controversial new Cal/OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers from COVID-19.

Attorneys representing employers expect OSHA to quickly implement President Joe Biden’s agenda for the agency including aggressive enforcement and a new COVID-19 standard, but several pending lawsuits and enforcement challenges could end up curtailing its authority regardless.

Former Trump OSHA acting chief Loren Sweatt is downplaying President Joe Biden’s executive order directing the agency to bolster its COVID-19 response and potentially craft an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for the virus, saying the order mostly maintains OSHA’s approach from her tenure and that an ETS is unlikely to succeed.

Employer attorneys are warning that problems hampering California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) enforcement and appeals board units are likely to continue under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) proposed fiscal year 2021-22 budget, which barely increases the agency’s funding over last year.