OSHA and industry petitioners are requesting that a federal appellate court continue to hold in abeyance an industry lawsuit challenging an Obama-era update to the agency's beryllium standards to allow the Trump administration to complete a planned rule rolling back aspects of the standard in accordance with a settlement deal reached this spring.
September 17, 2026
OSHA is urging a federal court to dismiss a public interest group’s lawsuit that seeks to preserve provisions of the Obama-era injury and illness reporting rule that the Trump administration had suspended, charging the group lacks standing and that the suspensions are not judicially reviewable.
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OSHA is bolstering enforcement oversight of trenching and excavation operations after a spike in worker deaths, updating its National Emphasis Program (NEP) on preventing collapses and increasing education and enforcement, though an industry official is bristling at OSHA's continued use of enforcement programs he faults for inflating OSHA penalties.
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Public Citizen is seeking to bolster its push to compel release of employers' worker injury and illness data, arguing that recent OSHA statements undermine the Trump administration's claims in its lawsuit that releasing worker data through public records requests would deter reporting, and that it is unable to detect companies that do not report.
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A senior Trump administration official says EPA is planning a significant rollback of an Obama-era facility safety rule, arguing against significant disclosure of facility data that the original rule requires and backing the Labor Department's lead in process safety.
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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is formally reviewing a draft OSHA plan for collecting information on possible changes, long sought by industry, to ease the agency's so-called lockout/tagout safety standard that applies to power equipment that is shut off during repair work.
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The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is launching an “actionable dialogue” with workers, managers and others to limit workplace hazards from combustible dust in the face of inaction by the Trump OSHA, which shelved a rulemaking setting a first-time standard to protect workers against hazards from combustible dust.
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Despite opposition from industry, OSHA's top enforcement official is reiterating warnings to industry representatives to be ready for “lots of inspections,” a stance that officials have previously touted but one that is at odds with the Trump administration's general efforts to curb regulation and enhance compliance.
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OSHA has sent two draft measures sought by industry groups to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, efforts aimed at completing Obama administration plans to modify existing rules on powered industrial trucks and crane operator qualifications.
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Brushing aside concerns from Democrats and labor unions, the Trump administration has proposed reinstating an exemption from Labor Department (DOL) rules to allow teens to operate powered patient lifts in healthcare, arguing that guidance from OSHA and other agencies is sufficient to mitigate any risks.
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OSHA's recently-updated Unified Agenda of pending rules shows the Trump administration continuing to advance rollbacks of major Obama-era rules, some at a delayed pace, spurring renewed criticism from labor advocates who argue the agency is failing to significantly advance necessary worker health and safety regulations.
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Labor groups are urging OSHA officials to investigate the agency's practices for responding to whistleblower complaints of retaliation in the financial sector to ensure agency staffing is adequate to ensure prompt resolution of complaints, as the Trump administration has dropped a committee that informed the agency's whistleblower policies.
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The Trump administration is expanding its rollback of an Obama-era injury and illness reporting rule with a new memo that critics say will curtail OSHA enforcement of the rule's anti-retaliation provisions, as dozens of Senate Democrats are urging the agency to drop a proposed rule that would limit the reporting requirements of the Obama rule.
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Chemical industry attorneys are urging EPA to accelerate its plan to undo Obama-era changes tightening the risk management plan (RMP) facility safety program, after the agency opted against appealing a court ruling that scrapped the Trump administration's delay of the revisions and reinstated looming compliance deadlines.
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California’s attorney general (AG) is strongly defending the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's (CSB) role in investigating accidents and recommending workplace safety and other rules, while backing CSB's push for a broad subpoena to investigate a refinery explosion, amid the Trump administration's calls to scrap the agency.
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Industry attorneys are arguing that OSHA enforcement has risen during the Trump administration as the lack of a confirmed political leader has left career staff wielding greater influence over the agency's enforcement approach, and pushing back against labor groups' assertions that agency enforcement is declining at an “accelerated pace.”
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OSHA is advancing plans for a safety standard to protect communications tower workers from falls and other hazards, seeking input on documents supporting a small business advisors' review this summer of effects of a rule on employers, though a former agency official says Trump administration deregulatory orders dim the rule's prospects.
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An appellate court has upheld a lower court’s ruling limiting OSHA's authority to expand a facility inspection beyond the circumstances of a reported incident, faulting the agency's assertions that facility hazards and injury reports support “reasonable suspicion” of violations, though one panelist offered support for the agency's stance.
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The Center for Progressive Reform (CPR), which advocates for strict public health and environment rules, is urging OSHA to craft new standards to protect workers from hazards they face when responding to disasters such as hurricanes, including new protections from ergonomic risks and heat stress, and greater enforcement during disaster responses.
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Industry groups are urging OSHA to broaden its proposed rollback of an Obama-era injury and illness reporting rule to further curtail requirements for electronic reporting of injury data and the rule's anti-retaliation provisions, while labor groups and Democratic state officials are arguing the proposed revisions are unwarranted and will harm worker safety.
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