A Colorado House panel has advanced legislation aimed at pushing back on Trump OSHA regulatory rollbacks by enshrining in state law a broad interpretation of the federal General Duty Clause, although it remains uncertain whether the bill can reach the Senate, in part because it currently lacks a Senate sponsor.
September 16, 2026
A coalition of workplace safety organizations, led by the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), is petitioning OSHA to update through direct final rules references to several independent consensus standards for personal protective equipment (PPE) and first aid kits.
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A group of 16 Republican senators, led by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), is urging OSHA to consider a range of constituent-raised concerns about the Biden-era proposed heat standard as the agency discusses “pragmatic solutions for preventing heat-related hazards in the workplaces.”
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OSHA has appointed new members to a slimmed-down Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) and will brief the panel at a March 31-April 1 meeting on several proposed and soon-to-be proposed rules to amend requirements related to the use of respirators.
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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is reviewing proposed changes to a Biden-era Labor Department (DOL) rule requiring self-insured coal mine operators to secure 100 percent of their projected black lung liabilities, with a goal of easing the regulatory and financial burden for industry.
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A Texas oil field equipment supplier is challenging the constitutionality of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) after receiving OSHA citations related to the death of a subcontractor’s employee, becoming the latest company seeking to expand the Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling.
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The co-chairs of the House Labor Caucus are urging leaders of a newly formed Democratic AI commission to ensure that an upcoming policy framework for AI regulation includes protection of workers as a central tenet, pointing to the need to promote guardrails to ensure the promise of the technology is met.
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The 4th Circuit has scheduled oral argument for May 5 in litigation where South Carolina is seeking to reinstate its challenge to OSHA’s requirement that states match annual increases to federal minimum and maximum OSH Act penalties after a federal judge last year dismissed for a second time the state’s challenge.
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There is real potential for a “tug of war” between what OSHA chief David Keeling may want to do with affirmative rulemaking and what the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) might wish to see with deregulatory rulemaking, an employer-focused attorney says.
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The Energy Department (DOE) has reopened the public comment period on proposed sweeping changes to its worker safety and health program aimed at expediting the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors in line with a Trump executive order, setting March 23 as the new comment deadline.
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An employer-focused attorney is cautioning companies that a new OSHA compliance-assistance program is only a start to ensuring workplaces are following federal requirements, even as the agency continues to tout the program’s benefits.
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The Agriculture Department (USDA) is proposing to increase the line speeds for processing poultry and swine following studies last year that found only a limited association between faster slaughterhouse line speeds and increased worker injuries, a move that is drawing praise from meatpackers but opposition from labor.
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OSHA’s redesign of a poster that employers must post informing employees of the protections and obligations provided for in the OSH Act fails to provide information on some of employees’ most important rights and makes no mention of key employer responsibilities, Obama-era OSHA chief Jordan Barab says.
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EPA and petroleum refiners are urging a federal court to dismiss litigation seeking to force the agency to regulate hydrogen fluoride (HF) under TSCA, arguing that even with an amended complaint, environmental groups lack standing and that TSCA cannot regulate accidental chemical releases that could harm workers or residents.
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California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is requesting district attorneys (DAs) in seven counties expand enforcement and bring criminal charges against engineered stone fabrication shop owners who are violating crystalline silica worker-protection standards, as the state continues to see a rise in cases of the deadly lung disease silicosis.
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A group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), is renewing a push to prohibit the use of hydrogen fluoride under federal toxics law, pointing in recently reintroduced legislation to past incidents of immediate injuries and deaths to refinery workers who are exposed to the chemical.
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The 8th Circuit has denied without comment OSHA’s request for rehearing of a landmark ruling from a three-judge panel of the court that found the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) preempts OSHA from regulating worker safety around railcars.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and several of her Democratic colleagues are pressing Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and OSHA head David Keeling to explain why the agency is proposing to roll back several worker protection standards and has reduced enforcement efforts.
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Attorneys are advising employers to closely monitor a new California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) proposal to update its workplace inspection “walkaround” rules governing who can serve as employee representatives during visits, warning that the agency’s proposal goes beyond a controversial Biden administration regulation opposed by industry.
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The D.C. Circuit is questioning whether it has jurisdiction to decide a dispute between the Labor Department (DOL) and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) over whether the Labor secretary can vacate a citation or remove a designation indicating the violation is particularly serious.
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