Daily News

AUSTIN, TX -- A senior Justice Department (DOJ) official is vowing to aggressively defend EPA, OSHA and other agencies' rules rather than “going directly to a settlement” and reiterating Reagan-era guidance to ensure that settlements comply with DOJ policies, sending a message that the Trump administration will not enter so-called “sue-and-settlement” agreements with environmentalists.

Industry sectors affected by EPA regulation of formaldehyde emissions from pressed wood products are split in their reaction to the agency's latest direct final rule to alter or delay the emissions standards, with a consumer electronics association seeking another extension of compliance deadlines while other industry groups support the rule.

Several environmental groups are questioning multiple aspects of EPA's efforts to launch its new risk evaluation program for existing chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and in a new letter are pressing agency officials for reassurances that its first 10 risk evaluations will comply with the law's intent.

An appeals court has again delayed briefing in industry's lawsuit challenging an Obama OSHA final rule strengthening limits for worker exposure to beryllium to allow for ongoing settlement talks and public input on a Trump administration proposal to amend the rule, which could preclude or limit the need for litigation.

EPA's latest proposed settlement with a company for alleged violations of the Risk Management Plan (RMP) facility safety program includes strict mandates for independent audits to prevent future violations, suggesting the agency will retain reliance on audits in such pacts despite delaying an Obama-era rule to mandate audits as part of RMP.

A former Obama OSHA official is urging the Trump administration to issue more public notices of significant penalties for violations of workplace safety rules in order to discourage non-compliance, reiterating criticism that Senate Democrats included in a call for a Labor Department Inspector General (IG) review of OSHA this spring.

Environmental and labor groups challenging EPA's lengthy delay of an Obama-era facility accident prevention rule are urging a federal court to reject the agency's request for 60 days to file its brief, arguing any further delay would unfairly boost EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's goal of stalling the facility safety update rule.

House lawmakers have introduced a bill to circumvent a controversial 2015 ruling that expanded the definition of joint employer and prompted strict Obama OSHA enforcement guidance, and though the bill would not directly impact OSHA, a source says lawmakers are tracking whether a similar change to the agency's governing statute may be needed.

House lawmakers appear poised to introduce a bill seeking to roll back the effect of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that expanded the definition of joint employer and broadened liability for workplace safety and other labor law violations, announcing a July 27 news conference on a legislative fix to the definition of joint employer.

A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general (AG) are suing EPA over its delay of an Obama-era rule updating the agency's facility accident prevention program, pointing to a fact sheet issued by the Trump agency as showing the rule is needed to protect communities, workers and first responders from accidents.

The Trump administration has scrapped Obama OSHA plans for numerous new rules intended to improve worker safety, including regulations aimed at strengthening chemical exposure limits, preventing workplace violence in health care and addressing combustible dust, drawing fire from labor groups who say the rules are needed to protect workers.

In a July 20 update to the Unified Agenda, the Trump OSHA dramatically curtails planned rulemakings, trimming an Obama administration list of more than two dozen rules to slightly more than a dozen.

Environmental and labor groups are renewing their arguments aimed at vacating the Trump administration's lengthy delay of an Obama-era update to the agency's Risk Management Plan (RMP) facility safety rule, charging the delay violates the Clean Air Act and faulting EPA's claim that seeking public input allows for lengthy reconsideration of final rules.

House appropriators are slashing funding for OSHA enforcement while backing industry criticism that the Obama administration's enforcement-heavy approach undermined workplace safety.

The House Appropriations Committee, on a 28-22 vote July 19, advanced a draft fiscal year 2018 spending bill that would cut OSHA funding far more than the Trump administration has requested, and backs Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's stated goals of boosting compliance assistance.

“The Committee supports the efforts of OSHA to adopt an approach that more effectively balances enforcement

EPA is drawing criticism from its children's health advisors and a Region 9 official over its decision to preclude legacy uses of chemicals, such as asbestos, in finished products from review under the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), bolstering criticisms from environmentalists who say they may sue the agency over its approach.

Labor groups are signaling that they plan to challenge the Trump OSHA's plan to delay the initial reporting deadline for the Obama administration's worker injury and illness reporting rule, arguing it violates federal law and harms workers, while employers are seeking an indefinite delay pending revisions to the rule and calling for cutting certain provisions.

OSHA sought comment through July 13 on its June 28 proposed five-month delay -- from July 1 to Dec. 1 -- of the rule's reporting requirement.

Industry officials are urging OSHA to give companies a greater role in the agency's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), including recruiting new member companies, signing off on company data, and possibly conducting audits, though union officials question whether the program is reaching the most dangerous job sites and should be expanded.

EPA's suite of early rules under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that will inform efforts to reduce risks to workers appear ripe for legal challenges from environmentalists, the chemical industry and other sectors, sources say, due to initial divided reaction to the rules and the massive scope of regulatory provisions in the complex policies.

House lawmakers have advanced a draft fiscal year 2018 spending bill that would cut OSHA by more than what the Trump administration requested, drawing pushback from worker safety advocates, though appropriators also have proposed retaining the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which the administration has sought to eliminate.

Environmentalists challenging EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's nearly two-year delay of an Obama-era facility safety rule are citing Pruitt's prior opposition to the rule while serving as Oklahoma's GOP attorney general (AG) as evidence that he has an “unalterably closed mind” on the rule and that the delay is unlawful.

EPA is claiming broad Clean Air Act authority for its final rule that significantly delays implementation of Obama-era revisions to the agency's facility safety policy, saying its decision to first seek public comment on the delay shields it from the legal uncertainty that led an appellate court to recently vacate a stay of an unrelated air rule.