Republicans on the House labor panel are urging OSHA to reach out to employers as it crafts a widely expected emergency temporary standard (ETS) for COVID-19, warning that rules based on outdated science could have an “adverse impact” on workplace infection controls.
September 17, 2026
A Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (OIG) report faulting OSHA for reducing workplace inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for the agency to swiftly develop an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to control the spread of the virus among employees, according to a top House Democrat.
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OSHA and public health groups are at odds over whether to pause the appeal of a court challenge to the Trump-era rollback of the agency’s 2016 recordkeeping rule, with the Biden administration vowing to review and possibly reconsider the action but plaintiffs in the suit saying they will not support more than a short-term stay.
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A California superior court judge is rejecting industry calls for a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 worker health and safety emergency temporary standard (ETS) adopted last year, while also saying the plaintiff groups are unlikely to prevail on the merits of the case.
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OSHA is floating the first update to its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) since 2012 -- a move that would more closely align the policy with current international guidelines for chemical labeling in the workplace and could also drive a new effort to incorporate those same requirements into EPA rules.
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Employers say EPA’s finding that workers face “unreasonable risks” from the dye ingredient pigment violet 29 (PV29) rests in large part on misunderstandings of industrial hygiene practices, and they are urging the agency to work with OSHA and other safety regulators to address those flaws before crafting any rules based on its assessment.
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Unions, worker safety groups and others are calling on the Biden administration to update public-health guidance on COVID-19 to explicitly acknowledge that the coronavirus spreads through aerosols -- a step they say would immediately lead to stricter workplace infection controls.
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Unions and environmental groups are asking courts to overturn EPA’s findings on whether workers face “unreasonable risks” from a host of chemicals including asbestos and the solvent methylene chloride, even as the agency itself is wrestling with whether to craft new rules for the substances in addition to OSHA standards.
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OSHA is expanding its whistleblower protection program under new statutory authority created in two laws enacted at the end of the Trump administration, including a statute that expanded prohibitions on money laundering and another that created a new anti-retaliation protection for antitrust cases.
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A California state senator is advancing legislation to bolster California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) enforcement measures to protect workers from COVID-19, provide new tools to hold large employers accountable for workplace health and safety violations, and encourage workers to report unsafe working conditions while preventing employer retaliation.
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House Democrats are pushing new legislation to reverse the landmark 2012 court ruling that imposed a strict six-month limit on OSHA’s enforcement of recordkeeping and reporting mandates, following release of a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that blames the decision for a dramatic enforcement drop.
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New York is suing Amazon over what it claims is the retail giant’s failure to protect workers from COVID-19 at its facilities in New York City, creating another front in the wide-ranging court battle over whether OSHA’s “primary jurisdiction” over workplace safety preempts states’ enforcement of their pandemic rules.
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OSHA is maintaining its defense of a Trump-era decision not to take enforcement action against a Pennsylvania meat-packing plant over conditions workers say pose an “imminent” threat of COVID-19 infection, even as the Biden administration is vowing to pursue stricter workplace safeguards and enforcement during the pandemic.
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Amazon is suing New York’s state government to block an enforcement action over COVID-19 exposures at one of its warehouses -- claiming the action is preempted by the OSH Act and further escalating a legal battle over whether states can enforce their pandemic protections in workplaces that OSHA regulates.
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Progressive and safety groups are stepping up their push for Congress to reform the OSH Act, including calling for legislation that would allow workers to sue their employers directly over violations of OSHA standards, seeing Democratic control of Congress and the White House as an opportunity to pass new workplace safety legislation.
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Jim Tozzi, the first director of the White House Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) that reviews major OSHA rules prior to their publication, is proposing that the Biden administration overhaul the office by increasing its staffing levels and giving OIRA a “proactive” role in helping agencies develop their policies.
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Public Citizen claims that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) blocked OSHA from investigating COVID-19 outbreaks at meat-packing plants during the early weeks of the pandemic, touting newly released documents it says show that USDA rejected the agency’s initial outreach and then kept OSHA in a “subservient” role.
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Anonymous meat-packing facility workers suing OSHA over its failure to cite their employer for “imminent danger” of COVID-19 infections at their plant say the Biden administration’s new COVID-19 guidance helps their case and are asking a judge to keep the suit alive even after the agency finalized its enforcement findings.
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The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) is outlining an ambitious agenda for the Biden OSHA, including strict COVID-19 workplace standards and increased enforcement, but also a long-term effort to “rebuild” the agency by raising staff levels and reforming the process for crafting new safety standards.
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Labor Secretary nominee Marty Walsh said at his Feb. 4 confirmation hearing that OSHA will be one of his “first, top priorities” if confirmed, praised Virginia’s COVID-19 workplace standard and said any federal rule for the pandemic will come with a boost to enforcement, echoing President Joe Biden’s promises for the agency.
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