OSHA is confirming that employers may use their own electronic systems and forms to track workplace injuries and illnesses as long as the alternative methods meet specific regulatory requirements for equivalency, while noting the agency does not endorse any commercial products.
Attorneys are urging companies to ensure they have up-to-date heat safety programs ahead of high summer temperatures, noting OSHA’s continued focus on heat-related hazards through its National Emphasis Program (NEP) even in the absence of a federal standard and a growing number of states with heat safety standards.
Conservative scholars are expressing skepticism that President Donald Trump can successfully compel OSHA and other federal agencies to revoke 10 rules for every new rule issued, after the White House released guidance explaining how to comply with the president’s steppe-up deregulatory effort.
The Trump EPA plans to expand its chemicals office “by at least 130 people,” the office’s top political appointee told staff earlier this week, which is expected to speed TSCA reviews of chemicals, including consideration of risks to workers, though the additional personnel are being moved from EPA’s gutted research office, a move that is drawing criticism.
Aiming to provide more compliance clarity for the construction industry, California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) is laying out new guidance for employers to comply with tougher lead exposure-prevention worker-safety rules that took effect Jan. 1, specifically applying to employees conducting dry abrasive blasting.
An employer-focused law firm is launching a coalition to craft recommendations for targeted changes to OSHA and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules, responding to the Trump administration’s call for stakeholders’ feedback on federal regulations that are onerous, outdated or unnecessary.
A Texas drilling company is asking a federal district court to vacate a workplace safety citation and declare the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) unconstitutional on multiple grounds, becoming at least the second company to raise such arguments about OSHRC in the wake of a landmark high court decision.
California lawmakers continue to advance worker safety-related bills, including a measure to prohibit employers from preventing workers from wearing masks or respirators if it is safe, and another to bar employers from relying on automated decision-making systems (ADS) to make a variety of employment decisions without human oversight.
A federal appeals court has denied requests from labor unions and public health advocates to formally intervene in litigation challenging the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) final silica dust rule after MSHA and industry groups argued the intervention motions were untimely and legally flawed.
The AFL-CIO is calling on Congress to “immediately intervene” to require the Trump administration to reinstate all staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as well as defend a federal budget that maintains and increases funding for job safety agencies like OSHA.
OSHA is asking a federal district court to dismiss North Dakota’s lawsuit challenging an OSHA investigation into alleged whistleblower retaliation by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ), arguing that sovereign immunity does not shield the state from federal enforcement actions.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and industry groups are urging a federal appeals court to reject efforts by labor unions and respiratory health advocates to formally intervene in litigation over the Biden-era silica dust rule, arguing the motions are untimely, unsupported by the law, and threaten to disrupt an already-advanced case.
A West Virginia coal miner is asking a federal district court for a preliminary injunction to stop the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from terminating key programs aimed at protecting coal miners from occupationally caused lung disease, saying the programs are integral to implementing the Mine Safety and Health Act.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is seeking the reinstatement of both the functions and staff of a recently gutted National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) facility in West Virginia, arguing the cuts endanger the health and safety of coal miners and undermine decades of public health research.
California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is proposing the formation of a special panel to recommend actions to help fill voids in worker safety that may be created by the Trump administration’s near-elimination of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), including certifying personal protective equipment (PPE).
A tissue paper manufacturer is urging the 6th Circuit to reverse an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) ruling upholding OSHA penalties for an alleged violation of so-called lockout/tagout safety standards, arguing the ALJ erred in finding the contested activity was not integral to production, which could have broad effects for the paper industry.
Industry experts are urging chemical manufacturers to proactively share occupational exposure data with EPA during TSCA risk evaluations of existing chemicals, even if the data was collected for other regulatory purposes, and provide contextual details that could result in more accurate assessments.
OSHA has announced plans to hold an informal public hearing in June on a Biden-era proposed rule aimed at preventing heat-related illnesses and deaths in the workplace, although it still remains uncertain whether the agency will finalize the rule amid industry and GOP lawmakers’ calls to scrap the rulemaking.
California state senators are advancing a labor-backed bill to bar employers from relying on automated decision-making systems (ADS) to make a variety of employment decisions -- including those aimed at aiding worker safety -- without human oversight.
Employer representatives are providing updated recommendations to California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) over its pending new policy to implement tougher penalties for “egregious” and “enterprise-wide” violations, fearing particularly punishing monetary fines for minor infractions across multiple sites.