Environmentalists are urging Virginia and Pennsylvania leaders to adopt state-level heat standards, pointing to record-level heat illness incidents in 2025 and the uncertainty of when, or if, OSHA will set a federal standard -- a message that could gain new traction in Virginia if Democrat Abigail Spanberger is elected governor on Nov. 4.
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) is outlining steps it is taking to improve the agency’s inspection and enforcement efforts following a highly critical state audit released in July, including actions to better document why inspections are pursued or not, conduct inspections in a timelier manner, ensure fines are properly assessed, and increase staffing levels.
A federal district court judge has granted OSHA’s request to dismiss North Dakota’s suit challenging an agency investigation into alleged whistleblower retaliation by the state’s environment department, finding that all of the state’s claims that the investigation violated North Dakota’s sovereign immunity fail.
Labor unions and occupational health experts are urging OSHA to withdraw a proposed rule that would narrow the agency’s interpretation of the General Duty Clause to exclude certain activities from enforcement, saying the proposal violates the agency’s statutory mandate and is based on faulty legal reasoning.
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is opening an investigation into a fatal explosion at a munitions plant in Humphreys County, TN, where a team will be deployed to conduct an initial assessment of the incident location and other investigation efforts to determine the cause of the disaster.
The White House regulatory review office is seeking to speed and streamline deregulatory actions, directing OSHA and other agencies to repeal “facially unlawful” regulations without notice and comment under the “good cause” exemption and skip certain consultations with state and local officials, tribes and others when issuing such actions.
Worker rights advocates are opposing a trio of related Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) proposals that would narrow district managers’ authority to require additional safety measures at coal mines, arguing MSHA has failed to demonstrate the proposals are necessary and would not harm miners.
Chemical industry groups are continuing their long-running effort to have Congress renew a lapsed chemical safety program, citing in part concerns over worker safety and security gaps that undermine the industry’s operational integrity and ability to remain secure from the threat of terror attacks.
Employers are closely watching a pair of related cases awaiting rulings from the 10th Circuit that could temper OSHA’s ability to issue citations under the General Duty Clause for workplace violence by imposing stricter requirements on the agency’s burden of proof, legal experts say.
A mining industry group is warning that a “fully functional” National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is vital to ensuring the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) can achieve the goals of its proposal to ease the process for using certain respirators in mines.
The National Construction Policy Institute (NCPI) is outlining legislative and regulatory changes it says are necessary to create a “fair, predictable, and legally defensible” framework for OSHA’s controversial multi-employer citation policy, arguing the agency’s current approach is “unsustainable.”
A pair of recent court rulings has created procedural and constitutional uncertainty over the way OSHA adjudicates the majority of its whistleblower complaint docket, leading to possible inconsistent outcomes across cases in the short term and the potential for judicial and legislative changes to the process in the long term, legal experts say.
South Carolina is urging the 4th Circuit to reinstate its litigation challenging OSHA’s requirement that states match annual increases to federal minimum and maximum OSH Act penalties, arguing a lower court erred in finding South Carolina’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA) claims were time-barred.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vetoed a bill to bar employers from relying on automated decision-making systems (ADS) to make certain employment decisions -- including those aimed at aiding worker safety -- without human oversight, but signed a measure to reduce worker exposure to crystalline silica in the stone fabrication industry.
The Senate’s confirmation earlier this month of Jonathan Snare to serve on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) restores its ability to review administrative law judge (ALJ) decisions, although OSHRC still lacks a quorum to make decisions on cases sent for review.
With the Senate’s recent confirmation of David Keeling as the head of OSHA, agency observers are outlining potential regulatory and enforcement changes under the Trump administration, including likely rollbacks of certain reporting requirements and other Biden-era priorities while possibly finalizing some version of a national heat standard.
Industry and business groups are ramping up a campaign to convince California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to veto a labor-backed bill to bar employers from relying on automated decision-making systems (ADS) to make certain employment decisions -- including those aimed at aiding worker safety -- without human oversight.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is renewing its bid to dismiss labor unions’ challenge to Trump administration cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), arguing the unions have failed to demonstrate any non-speculative harms to establish standing, even with an amended complaint.
A first-time national study finds that hot temperatures are a significant risk factor for a wide array of workplace injuries beyond heat illness or heat stroke, although state heat illness-prevention standards appear to lessen the risk.
The Senate has confirmed President Trump’s nomination of David Keeling to head OSHA and Wayne Palmer to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in a party-line vote on a package of more than 100 administration nominations for a range of positions across numerous federal agencies.