Daily News

An industry attorney expects that the Trump EPA's proposed rule revising the agency's Risk Management Plan (RMP) facility accident prevention program with new requirements will completely undercut the already-delayed Obama-era rule, restoring the prior standard and realigning RMP with OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) rule.

Rejecting a set of industry challenges, a federal appellate court has largely upheld the Obama OSHA's March 2016 final rule updating limits for exposure to silica for the first time in more than 40 years, though the court granted unions' request to remand a portion of the rule to strengthen provisions governing already-exposed workers.

A just-announced settlement agreement between OSHA and a Kansas grain company underscores Trump administration efforts to ease enforcement and encourage compliance, an industry source says, after the agency agreed to reduce its classifications of the company's citations and accept lesser penalties.

The source says the settlement agreement likely signals an effort by the Trump administration to depart from an Obama-era proposal that had sought to eliminate use of some downgraded violations.

A federal appellate court has reversed an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) decision that subjected a New York aggregates company to Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules, backing the Obama Labor Department's (DOL) determination that OSHA has authority over such milling plants.

OSHA says it is looking to address the opioid crisis as a workplace issue in response to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2016 job fatality report that showed a 32 percent annual increase in workplace fatalities from overdoses in 2016, and noted a 7 percent increase in annual workplace fatalities overall, the third such increase and the highest since 2008.

OSHA has again delayed its deadline for employers to submit worker injury and illness data under the Obama administration's controversial reporting rule, giving employers an additional two weeks to submit data, as an industry attorney is raising concerns that the rule's requirements for reporting of temporary workers' injuries are unclear.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reversed its controversial 2015 ruling that broadened the definition of “joint employer,” a decision that an industry attorney says could inform future OSHA enforcement policy, though Republican lawmakers say they will continue to pursue a bill to codify the decision's effect.

After voting along party lines against Scott Mugno's confirmation to lead OSHA, Senate Democrats are leaving the door open to working with the nominee if and when he is confirmed -- though they are setting a high bar for cooperation, signaling they expect Mugno to take tough action against violators, a stance at odds with the Trump deregulatory agenda.

Touting successful efforts to repeal dozens of rules from EPA, OSHA and other agencies in 2017, President Donald Trump and other top officials are pledging to step up such efforts in 2018, including calling for agencies to repeal three existing rules for every new measure issued, rather than the current two-for-one requirement.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee (HELP) has approved the Trump administration's nomination of Scott Mugno, the FedEx safety executive, to lead OSHA on a party-line vote Dec. 13, clearing the way for a Senate floor debate.

Citing safety and other concerns, labor groups are intensifying their opposition to a poultry industry request to roll back Obama-era rules limiting line speeds at processing facilities, renewing legal charges that any regulatory easing would violate Agriculture Department (USDA) rules and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

An animal welfare group is petitioning the Agriculture Department (USDA) for stricter oversight on handling and slaughtering requirements in the poultry industry, an effort that could gain new credence after a government watchdog raised concerns over the sector's safety and could also undercut an industry petition seeking to speed processing times.

The poultry industry is downplaying a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that urged OSHA and other agencies to step up scrutiny of worker safety in the sector but nevertheless indicated it would continue to make improvements in its safety practices.

Health groups are suing the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) for failing to promulgate rules requiring industrial facilities to report their chemical releases following an incident, citing in part concerns that first responders were harmed after exposure to the Arkema, Inc. fire in Houston following Hurricane Harvey due to inadequate reporting data.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging OSHA and other agencies to strengthen their oversight over the meat processing industry after finding significant health and safety concerns and inadequate enforcement, prompting new calls from Democrats for Trump administration officials to clamp down on the industry.

EPA officials are undecided on whether to assess exposures to, and manage risks of, legacy uses and disposal of persistent and biaccumulative chemicals under the reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), opening the door to a limitation that is already a feature of litigation over the Trump administration's rules governing TSCA assessments and chemical prioritization processes.

Scott Mugno, the FedEx safety executive who the Trump administration has tapped to lead OSHA, provided senators with little details of his policy plans and offered few new commitments at his Dec. 5 confirmation hearing, frustrating Democrats who were already concerned that the nominee's record favors employers.

OSHA is pledging to provide enforcement discretion to general industry employers who fail to comply with portions of the Obama administration's slips, trips and falls rule governing Rope Descent System (RDS) anchorage requirements by the Nov. 20 compliance deadline, backing industry calls for a further delay as employers didn't have enough time to comply.

Public Citizen, the consumer watchdog group, is bracing for OSHA and other agencies to announce plans to withdraw a host of existing rules and pending rulemakings when the Trump administration releases its upcoming fall regulatory agenda, which is expected to be issued soon.

The Labor Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) is preparing a new audit examining whether penalties OSHA imposes on violators are having a deterrent effect and whether the agency is adequately publicizing penalty results, putting new pressure on the agency to strengthen its enforcement just as many in industry are hoping the agency will ease its enforcement efforts.