The Obama administration's decision to deny a petition seeking stronger protections for first responders and other workers from exposure to corrosive dust is dividing industry representatives and the whistleblower group that petitioned for the stronger protections, according to recently filed comments.
September 17, 2026
State regulators and a farm group are asking the Obama administration to delay by one year an upcoming deadline for implementing a rule toughening standards for protecting workers from pesticide exposures, arguing the agency violated federal law requiring congressional review of the final version prior to publication and failed to properly prepare states.
Date:
Environmentalists and industry officials are issuing competing criticism of EPA's final rule overhauling its facility accident prevention regulation, with advocates saying the rule brings only “very modest improvements” in safety, while an industry group says the rule will likely impede rather than improve safety and bring new burdens.
Date:
EPA's final rule strengthening its facility safety program includes new requirements for hazard analysis, auditing and information sharing, though the agency eased some proposed provisions to address concerns from industry and state officials, including those raised by President-elect Donald Trump's intended nominee to run the agency, though it is not clear if the changes will satisfy critics' calls to block or kill the measure.
Date:
OSHA in a new white paper is urging companies to incorporate worker safety and health into their sustainability plans generally aimed at reducing environmental harms, arguing workplace safety is a forgotten aspect of sustainability, a call that could provide a road map for the incoming Trump administration to improve worker safety through voluntary means.
Date:
An OSHA advisory panel is urging the agency to develop a rule setting safety standards for emergency response and preparedness operations based on language crafted by stakeholder groups, including representatives of national firefighter organizations, through a seldom-used process that allows regulated entities to craft draft measures.
Date:
OSHA has issued a final rule clarifying that companies have a “continuing obligation” to record their employees' injuries and illnesses, a change in its record-keeping regulations that industry critics say unlawfully circumvents an appellate ruling limiting the statute of limitations, and which OSHA acknowledges will spur another round of litigation.
Date:
OSHA's advisors appear divided over whether to recommend the agency craft a broad new emergency response rule, with one advisor arguing new requirements could shutter company fire brigades while impinging on safety at many public fire departments, though others say a rule would improve safety and set a baseline for local standards.
Date:
Industry attorneys are highlighting challenges companies face under an Obama administration policy of targeting worker safety violations with environmental laws, including increased penalties, vague standards and more complex dealings with federal safety investigators -- areas the incoming Trump administration may target in scaling back enforcement.
Date:
Federal science advisors reviewing EPA's analysis of whether glyphosate, the world's most commonly-used herbicide, causes cancer are faulting data gaps in the agency's review, including on potential risks to production workers and on pesticide formulations, though officials say risks to production workers are OSHA's responsibility and outside the scope of its analysis.
Date:
Chemical makers are stepping up their concerns over EPA’s implementation of provisions in the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) over how to assess the safety to workers and others of new chemicals, warning ahead of an EPA meeting that they could lead to delays in reviews and increase burdens on industry.
Date:
A small business group is urging a federal court in Texas to preserve their lawsuit seeking to block OSHA's 2013 memo interpreting federal law as allowing union officials to accompany agency inspectors onto non-unionized work sites, pushing back against a recent agency motion to dismiss the suit.
Date:
Industry officials are urging lawmakers and representatives of President-elect Donald Trump to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) or other means to block the Obama administration's pending rule strengthening industrial facility safety requirements, arguing that officials have failed to justify the proposed rule's costly and unnecessary new requirements.
Date:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is urging a federal appeals court to vacate OSHA's final rule overhauling its silica standards for the first time in decades, backing construction industry arguments that the agency failed to adequately justify the rule, and that the existing standard has dramatically reduced worker deaths and is adequate.
Date:
OSHA is poised to publish its plan seeking data to inform a possible workplace violence prevention standard for the healthcare and social service sectors, including data on the effectiveness of employer violence prevention programs, following calls from House Democrats and labor groups for a rule that would require employers to craft such programs.
Date:
OSHA will soon forward for White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review a proposed safety certification rule for crane operators on construction sites, one of several updates the agency is weighing to bolster its standard, though an operator certification group is questioning whether the rule will be out before a compliance deadline next year.
Date:
Agricultural retailers are urging a federal appeals court to reject OSHA's request for rehearing a decision this fall vacating the agency's 2015 policy narrowing an exemption from its process safety management (PSM) standard for retailers, arguing the agency has failed to meet the standard for rehearing and misconstrued the adverse ruling.
Date:
A coalition of chemical, agricultural and other industry groups are urging the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to return EPA's proposed risk management plan (RMP) facility safety rule for further review to the agency, claiming that officials failed to properly analyze the costs and benefits of the revised policy.
Date:
OSHA Chief David Michaels appears undeterred by the prospect that recently-issued OSHA rules may face rollback from the incoming Donald Trump administration, saying that the agency is still working to issue new rules, including an overhaul of its standard for protecting workers from exposure to beryllium, among others.
Date:
A federal judge has rejected industry's request for a nationwide preliminary injunction against OSHA's new injury and illness reporting rule, set to take effect Dec. 1, ruling that plaintiffs failed to show an injunction is necessary to prevent irreparable harm and is in the public interest, though he did not preclude a future ruling in industry's favor on the merits.
Date: