Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in a new dissent claims there is “mounting criticism” of the Chevron principle that gives primacy to OSHA and other agencies’ interpretations of unclear laws, raising the stakes for pending cases that could give the court’s strengthened conservative majority an opening to narrow or scrap the doctrine.
September 17, 2026
Heather MacDougall, chair of the administrative commission that reviews OSHA penalties and citations, has announced plans to resign in the coming weeks, a move that will leave the panel without a quorum -- and unable to rule on several pending cases -- as another member's term is slated to expire.
Date:
In a precedent-setting decision, OSHA’s review commission has, for the first time, upheld the agency's use of General Duty Clause authority to address a fatal workplace violence incident, but the commission's chair, in a concurrent opinion, strongly urged the agency to promulgate a workplace violence standard, underscoring lawmakers' calls.
Date:
In a split decision, OSHA's review commission has reversed an agency citation issued under its General Duty Clause authority that sought to penalize a construction company whose employee died from heat stress, a ruling that labor advocates say raises the bar for such cases and shows the need for OSHA to develop a heat stress prevention standard.
Date:
The Justice Department (DOJ) is asking the Supreme Court to retain a limited form of judicial deference for OSHA and other agencies’ interpretations of their rules rather than scrapping the doctrine altogether as conservatives, industry groups and others have urged, warning that deference is needed to ensure “certainty and stability” for nationwide rules.
Date:
House Democrats are planning to quickly advance legislation setting deadlines for OSHA to craft a standard addressing workplace violence in the healthcare sector, but the legislation is facing stiff opposition from Republicans, suggesting that pending companion legislation in the Senate is unlikely to advance.
Date:
Democratic and Republican lawmakers, along with Trump administration officials, agreed during a Feb. 27 hearing on the need for a long-term reauthorization of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) chemical facility safety program but lawmakers appeared divided on whether to provide additional regulatory flexibility to industrial facilities.
Date:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pledging to renew efforts to get the Defense Department (DOD) to weigh contractors' safety records before awarding contracts after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found a series of contractor violations as well as problems with OSHA and DOD tracking systems.
Date:
Environmentalists are charging that the Trump administration’s process for approving new chemicals under the recently revised toxics law without restrictions fails to adequately address risks to workers, building on long-standing opposition to the new chemicals review process as Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has pledged revisions.
Date:
An Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) has upheld a penalty OSHA imposed on a healthcare facility under its General Duty authority for not adequately addressing workplace violence, highlighting the issue just as House Democrats prepare to push newly reintroduced legislation requiring the agency to craft a workplace violence standard.
Date:
Cal/OSHA officials are planning to convene an advisory committee this spring to provide advice on ways to permanently preserve the goals of the Obama administration's reporting and recordkeeping rule after determining that the Trump administration's rollback, which takes effect later this month, “substantially diminished” the requirements.
Date:
The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and environmental groups are suing to compel the Trump administration to finalize EPA’s Obama-era proposed ban on use of methylene chloride in paint strippers, claiming that the June 2016 revised toxics law requires the agency to protect workers from unreasonable risks.
Date:
Construction and other industry groups are welcoming OSHA's recent announcement that it will delay for 60 days enforcing documentation requirements for its new crane operator certification regulation, though some groups had urged the agency to provide a much longer period.
Date:
Exxon Mobil is urging an appellate court to uphold a ruling that barred the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) from enforcing document requests about chemicals that are stored on site but not released as a result of an incident, arguing the Clean Air Act does not provide CSB with power to subpoena for documents related to “potential” releases.
Date:
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is urging the Trump administration to ensure that EPA’s final rule banning use of methylene chloride in paint strippers protects workers by covering most commercial uses, fearing that the agency is likely to rely on a proposed training program in lieu of a comprehensive ban on the substance’s paint-stripping uses.
Date:
Citing worker safety and other risks, food safety advocates are urging the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to halt approval of line speed wavers for poultry processing plants and to reopen the comment period for a 2014 final rule after a Georgia plant was granted a waiver despite failing a required safety inspection.
Date:
Labor groups are petitioning the Trump administration to retract a proposed Labor Department (DOL) rule easing child labor safety laws in the health sector because it violates the Information Quality Act (IQA), a little-used law that courts have found to be unenforceable, though advocates say the petition could bolster a future suit under other laws.
Date:
Taking a page out of Republicans' playbook, House Democrats are trying to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to rescind the Trump OSHA's rule rolling back Obama-era recordkeeping requirements, a messaging exercise as the effort will almost certainly not be considered in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Date:
House Democrats have reintroduced and expanded legislation seeking to strengthen the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act by covering additional workers and bolstering protections for whistleblowers while also enhancing penalties, though an employers’ attorney suggests the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate or reach the president’s desk.
Date:
Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), incoming chairwoman of the House subcommittee overseeing worker safety is aiming to ensure vigorous OSHA enforcement, block Trump administration rollback of worker safety rules and reduce opioid abuse among construction workers but says boosting the minimum wage is her top priority.
Date: