The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is urging an appellate court to overturn a lower court ruling that partially denied its request for a broad subpoena for information related to an incident at an Exxon Mobil refinery, arguing the court abused its discretion in rejecting some subpoenas as “not relevant and material” to its inquiry.
September 17, 2026
Backing calls by Democrats and labor groups, NIOSH is defending the Obama OSHA's update to the injury and illness recordkeeping program, arguing that requirements for employers to submit detailed injury and illness data under the rule would inform worker protection efforts, and help OSHA prioritize facilities for enforcement.
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Labor and food safety groups are warning they will sue the Trump administration if it allows additional poultry processing plants to qualify for waivers from its line-speed inspection rules under a newly announced plan to expand the existing waiver program, in part over concerns that the waivers will increase workplace safety risks.
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Environmentalists are petitioning EPA to amend the agency's Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule under the revised toxics law to require businesses to report uses of asbestos, an effort advocates say would close a loophole created when EPA excluded asbestos from CDR because it is “naturally occurring,” and would provide valuable data to workers.
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Public Citizen is defending its request for a federal court to grant a preliminary injunction compelling the Trump administration to implement delayed requirements of an Obama-era worker injury and illness reporting rule, arguing that it meets the grounds for relief because it is harmed by the delay and is likely to succeed in the litigation.
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Former OSHA officials are pointing to the Labor Department Office of Inspector General's (OIG) recent finding that half of all severe injuries go unreported as evidence that the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda is weakening OSHA oversight, blaming the repeal of an Obama-era record-keeping rule for under-reporting of severe injuries.
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A public interest group is calling for stepped up enforcement of EPA administered industrial facility safety rules that require disclosure of facilities' data after a federal court expedited compliance with an Obama-era rule strengthening the agency's accident prevention program, even as the Trump administration seeks to roll the rule back.
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OSHA is seeking nominations for more than a dozen slots on its advisory committee that provides input on rules governing workplace safety in construction sector, amid controversy that the Trump administration is generally sidelining use of such panels leading to an “insular” approach to decisionmaking.
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Appellate court judges have again granted environmentalists' request to force quick implementation of an Obama-era rule tightening facility safety requirements, expediting its ruling that struck down a Trump administration effort to delay the rule's effectiveness by almost two years while the agency considers whether to undo the stricter mandates.
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As floodwaters from Hurricane Florence threaten industrial facilities in the Carolinas, the City of Houston, House Democrats, and former EPA staff are strongly opposing the Trump administration's rollback of an Obama-era rule strengthening EPA's facility accident prevention program, arguing it would make facilities more vulnerable to flooding.
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OSHA is rejecting aspects of the Labor Department (DOL) Office of Inspector General's (OIG) calls to bolster its severe injury reporting program to ensure employers report severe injuries and abate hazards, arguing that the burden of accurate reporting lies with employers, which are not required to prove hazards have been abated, and that existing agency guidance is adequate.
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The Senate has approved bicameral legislation that funds OSHA and other agencies in fiscal year 2019, providing the agency with a $5 million increase over FY18 levels, well above the Trump administration's request as well as House approved language.
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Labor and public interest groups have delivered more more than 61,000 signatures to OSHA backing their petition lodged this summer urging the agency to craft a federal standard protecting workers from exposure to excessive heat, citing risks to workers responding to Hurricane Florence and other extreme weather events spurred by climate change.
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OSHA is urging a federal court to reject a public interest group's request for preliminary injunction to compel the Trump administration to implement delayed requirements of an Obama-era worker injury and illness reporting rule, arguing that its delay is reasonable and that the plaintiffs have not met the test for winning such an injunction.
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A divided National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is proposing a rule that would raise the bar for determining when contractors, franchisers and other entities are considered “joint employers,” opening the door to subjecting them to workplace safety and other requirements, arguing the rule will clarify existing confusion.
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OSHA and EPA are crafting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to guide consultations between the two agencies on protections to workers who may be exposed to new chemicals that EPA is reviewing under the revised toxics law to determine whether and under what conditions they should enter the market.
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A plastics industry attorney expects that the Trump administration will not advance an Obama-era plan to expand when OSHA's safety standard applies to power equipment that is shut off during repair work, noting that OSHA did not hold a required hearing on the change, and that the agency may instead seek changes to ease the burdens of the existing rule.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) is seeking public input on a variety of possible changes to its rules of procedure, including broadening the definition of an “affected employee,” which labor groups have long sought and that could expand the scope of cases stemming from multi-employer job sites.
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Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to reauthorize a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) facility safety program that would streamline compliance for certain facilities, but rejects calls from House Democrats and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to bolster the disclosure of facility data to first responders.
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Public Citizen is advancing a pair of lawsuits seeking to compel the Trump administration to implement an Obama-era worker injury and illness reporting rule, urging a district court to order OSHA to start collecting employers' detailed data on worker injuries and illnesses, while also seeking summaries of that data the agency has already collected.
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