Federal agencies should intensify efforts to identify how they would cut back spending if the sequestration goes into effect March 1, the White House Office of Management Budget told agencies this week, adding that agencies should use any flexibility to minimize impacts to their core missions and identify operational challenges that could raise life, safety or health concerns as they continue to plan for the across-the-board cuts.
September 17, 2026
A Hyatt hotel in San Francisco has reached a settlement with Cal/OSHA to resolve controversial ergonomics complaints by the housekeeping staff, in an agreement that rules out citations against the company for musculoskeletal hazards but which also requires the hotel to continue undergoing a job hazard analysis on site.
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At least two names to replace outgoing Labor Secretary Hilda Solis are floating within the occupational safety and health community – one a top advisor in the Clinton White House and former Labor Department official, the other a high-ranking union official – though it is unclear if they are being vetted by the White House.
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Farmworker advocates, environmentalists and others say the Environmental Protection Agency has become increasingly vague on what it intends to propose in its long-stalled measure setting new pesticide safety standards for agricultural workers and applicators, sowing doubts on whether the plan will include strict approaches that officials had previously said they would propose.
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Industry sources say the issue of when the Environmental Protection Agency's protective standards for vapor intrusion apply at contaminated sites and when levels set by OSHA are appropriate remains unclear after EPA addressed the issue in 2002 draft vapor intrusion guidance but not in a more recent draft, prompting one environmental attorney recently to urge EPA to clarify the issue in final guidance.
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Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' resignation Wednesday (Jan. 9) from the Labor Department's top post left the occupational safety and health community wondering who might take her place and what the change means for the future of OSHA in President Obama's second term.
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Worker safety and health advocates are once again pressuring the White House and OSHA to proceed with a draft proposal for mandating injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2), though the hotly contested rule has still not undergone a small-business review that the agency has said started about a year ago.
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OSHA stakeholders anticipate the Obama administration will beef up enforcement against employers with alleged health and safety violations in the Obama administration's second term, continuing the “new sheriff in town” posture of the agency that began in the early days of the takeover from the Bush administration.
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Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is pointing to the Environmental Protection Agency's recent release of risk assessments for five commonly used chemicals to bolster the need for his bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), arguing that under the current statute EPA has little authority to limit use of the chemicals should it conclude that they are dangerous to human health or the environment.
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OSHA is seeking help from other parts of the administration on ways to streamline its process for accrediting Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL) for timeliness and effectiveness, after Congress' investigative arm blasted the agency's handling of the accreditation process.
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OSHA's contentious regulatory effort to tackle combustible dust hazards has re-emerged on the agency's timetable for rulemaking after several months of being listed as a long-term action with no set date to move forward.
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The re-election of President Obama clears the way for OSHA to possibly complete some of its more ambitious regulatory initiatives such those covering injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) and silica, while others are likely to remain stuck in lengthy review processes, experts tell Inside OSHA Online as they look ahead to developments in 2013.
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Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) will be taking over the gavel of House Appropriations subcommittee that covers OSHA funding, according to congressional sources.
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OSHA appears to be ramping up efforts to exchange health and safety information with its overseas counterparts, with the most recent example being a trip to China by agency chief David Michaels.
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OSHA's Office of Whistleblower Protection Programs (OWPP) has been spun off into its own directorate, reporting to the non-career deputy assistant secretary of OSHA, as part of a move to elevate the program, according to sources within the agency. Previously, the office reported directly to the OSHA chief and was housed within the assistant secretary's office. The change comes as OSHA continues exploring ways to improve the effectiveness of OWPP.
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Whistleblower advocates say a new advisory panel set up to advise OSHA on whistleblower issues may bolster the agency's efforts to battle a flood of retaliatory moves by employers. One member of the panel tells Inside OSHA Online the committee provides an opportunity for a “fresh set of eyes” to evaluate OSHA's program.
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OSHA has released a new interactive online tool to help protect workers exposed to cadmium, a key chemical of concern that has been a subject of discussion by stakeholders regarding OSHA permissible exposure limits. The new interactive online tool will assist employers in complying with OSHA’s cadmium standard, the agency says.
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The Environmental Protection Agency is withdrawing its recent immediate final rule requiring the metals industry to submit certain health and safety data on the risks posed by cadmium, after an industry group threatened to sue over concerns that the measure was overly broad and did not set a clear standard for when industry should investigate potential risks.
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Three key safety and health organizations are pressuring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate labor appropriations panel, to maintain steady funding for OSHA and NIOSH programs in the next spending measure that clears Congress, even as the government bumps up against the so-called “fiscal cliff” that would slash spending across the board.
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A top OSHA official made it clear to agency advisors that OSHA intends to continue its recent trend of pushing corporate-wide settlement agreements (CSAs) designed to abate hazards across a company's multiple operations. The agency has signaled greater interest in such agreements under the Obama administration, and an industry source says that even though CSAs require more abatement efforts they generally help employers avoid costly repeat and willful citations.
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