Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, is defending his decisions governing OSHA and other agency regulations from his years-long record on a key appellate court, but he is drawing strong criticism from Democratic senators, who charge he will undermine regulatory protections.
September 17, 2026
EPA, chemical manufacturers, and GOP-led states are urging a federal appellate court to reject environmentalists' request to compel the agency to quickly implement an Obama-era update to the agency's facility accident prevention rule, arguing petitioners have failed to show the rare move is needed and that a prior RMP rule reduces risks.
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A federal appellate court has withdrawn its order striking down the Trump EPA's delay of an Obama-era rule tightening facility safety requirements, saying it “inadvertently” issued its mandate, a procedural step finalizing its ruling, following environmentalists' request and will give EPA and other litigants one day to oppose advocates' request.
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As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to launch hearings, labor groups and their Democratic backers are vowing to strongly oppose Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, citing in part his record that they say shows he has backed employers over OSHA, though they face a high bar as the GOP controls the Senate.
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An industry attorney says that an administrative law judge's (ALJ) recent ruling highlights liability concerns that staffing agencies face if deemed “exposing employers” under OSHA's multi-employer enforcement policy, a focus of Obama-era enforcement that agency staff has not shown signs of backing off of during the Trump administration.
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Environmentalists and Democratic-led states are threatening to sue EPA if the agency does not drop its plan to roll back the Obama-era rule strengthening the agency's facility accident prevention program, citing the recent appellate ruling vacating EPA's measure delaying the rule's implementation.
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As a federal appellate court weighs the Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) standing to sue, the group is moving to drop its suit challenging the agency's draft framework for reviewing new chemicals under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), arguing that EPA has decided not to implement the framework.
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Environmental and community petitioners are urging an appellate court that struck down the Trump administration's delay of the Obama-era facility accident preventation rule to quickly finalize its ruling, arguing that continued delay poses risks to millions, and that EPA is unlikely to prevail in any future appeal.
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EPA's proposal to strengthen its 2001 lead paint dust hazard standards is spurring conflicting reactions, with healthy housing groups and some states urging the agency to significantly tighten its standards, which could prompt greater protections for workers conducting renovation and repair in some facilities with lead paint, though home builders say more data is necessary to ensure the proposal is viable.
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Environmentalists and industry attorneys say the appellate court ruling vacating the Trump administration's delay of the Obama-era facility safety rule sets a high bar for EPA's ongoing effort to revise the regulation, given the judges' emphasis on EPA's Clean Air Act duty to prevent disasters and failure to show the delay was consistent with increased safety.
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An industry attorney is seeking an employer who could act as a plaintiff in a potential lawsuit challenging what the attorney describes as OSHA's practice of "shaming" employers in enforcement press releases as unconstitutional, arguing that the Trump administration has failed to soften critical language in the announcements that harm employers even in cases where allegations are reduced or rescinded.
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EPA has dropped an early plan to consider risks of asbestos exposures to firefighters and other first responders due to its policy of excluding legacy uses from consideration for possible regulation under the revised toxics law, a move that is drawing protest from a group representing the workers and highlights the controversy around the policy decision.
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Massachusetts researchers are calling for government policies to reduce opioid abuse among construction workers after a new study finding that the state's construction workers are six times more likely to overdose than other workers, highlighting workplace safety concerns stemming from opioids, which OSHA and employers are seeking to address.
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Appellate judges have scrapped former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's rule delaying by almost two years implementation of Obama-era facility safety requirements after finding the delay made a “mockery” of Clean Air Act mandates, the latest in a string of legal losses for the agency in suits filed over Pruitt delays of Obama EPA policies.
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Democratic lawmakers and public interest groups are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to scrap a recently announced policy allowing poultry plants to seek waivers from existing line speed limits, arguing the plan undermines USDA's denial of an industry request for broader waivers, and jeopardizes worker safety.
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Industry attorneys are welcoming EPA's recent approval of a new chemical that took a narrow view of the substance's “reasonably foreseen uses” that the agency is required to consider, but are urging officials to clarify whether the approach is intended to apply more broadly to agency reviews of other new chemicals under the revised toxics law.
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EPA has approved a new chemical for use under the revised toxics law but has limited its review and regulation of the substance's “reasonably foreseen uses,” a move environmentalists say signals a “reckless” process for reviewing new chemicals that violates the June 2016 toxics law by failing to preclude unintended uses from its requirements.
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A three-judge federal appellate panel appeared skeptical during recent oral argument of a construction company's challenge to OSHA's “controlling employer” policy, suggesting the agency should be granted deference to interpret its authority and that officials are better positioned than courts to interpret ambiguous statutes.
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The Labor Department's (DOL) Inspector General has launched an audit of OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program (WPP) in several Western states after mounting pressure from years of audits related to a major Wells Fargo prosecution as well as internal complaints from a former agency investigator.
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Massachusetts officials are signaling strong pushback against a Trump administration proposed rule that could allow for new uses of asbestos, with state environment officials raising early concerns and seeking a six month delay in the rulemaking while the state's attorney general (AG) works with other Democratic AGs to oppose the plan.
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