The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is recommending steps states should take to bolster health and safety protections for workers to lock-in current federal protections and close gaps in areas OSHA does not regulate, arguing federal worker protections are under attack by the Trump administration.
An employer advocacy group is heavily faulting California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) proposed first-time rules to protect workers from sliding and swinging gates at worksites, arguing the measures capture far too many small gates and go far beyond the breadth of coverage envisioned in a petition accepted by the agency to draft the new standards.
Employers who face deadlines to contest OSHA citations during the government shutdown should file necessary documents on time even though the agency will be unable to review such challenges until it resumes normal operations, attorneys with the firm Conn Maciel Carey recommend.
If there is a lapse in federal appropriations for the Labor Department (DOL), OSHA expects to furlough nearly three-quarters of its employees and be limited only to functions concerning matters “of emergencies involving the safety of human life or protection of property,” according to a DOL contingency plan.
Mining industry groups are generally backing the goals of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) proposal to allow use of electronic surveying equipment in high-hazard areas of underground coal mines under certain circumstances, but are urging some additional clarifications.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reiterating arguments that a pair of West Virginia coal miners lack standing to challenge staffing cuts at a key federal workplace safety agency, saying the plaintiffs’ attempt to seek standing in perpetuity is not appropriate under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
ExxonMobil is arguing that OSHA’s defense in the company’s challenge to a citation for failing to properly record the mental health diagnosis of an employee does little to respond to the company’s legal claims and in fact only confirms the agency failed to meet due process and Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requirements.
The Labor Department (DOL) is asking the D.C. Circuit to reverse several decisions from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) that rejected the DOL secretary’s changes to health and safety citations in enforcement settlements with mining companies, arguing FMSHRC overstepped its authority.
The Trump EPA is proposing to overhaul major portions of the Biden-era rule outlining how the agency evaluates chemical risks under TSCA including eliminating a requirement to make a single, “whole chemical” risk determination and revising how the agency will consider occupational exposure controls.
The House Education and Workforce Committee has advanced legislation along party lines to codify OSHA’s longstanding Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), with Republicans touting the bill’s ability to save OSHA resources and taxpayer dollars but Democrats arguing the bill will do little to actually protect workers.
California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is partially granting two petitions seeking review of separate worker-safety rules covering residential construction worker falls and bird flu exposure, though they are rejecting requests by the petitioners for emergency standards to address their concerns.
OSHA is extending by 30 days the deadline for stakeholders to provide additional comments on the Biden-era proposed heat injury and illness standard after an industry coalition said it needed more time to adequately respond to questions from the agency following an informal public hearing.
A recent landmark ruling from the 6th Circuit analyzing what constitutes “substantially the same” under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) opens the door for a future Democratic administration to issue new OSHA ergonomics rules after Congress killed a Clinton-era regulation in 2001, administrative law experts say.
West Virginia coal miners and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are continuing to spar over litigation challenging staffing cuts at a key federal workplace safety agency, with HHS renewing a motion to dismiss the case and the miners urging a federal court to again reject the department’s arguments.
The Labor Department (DOL) is arguing that a New Jersey steel company’s attempt to preserve constitutional and statutory claims against the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) “fails to establish actual success on the merits for any of its claims,” and therefore the case should be dismissed.
The Trump EPA’s recent 180-degree reversal on its initial plan to rescind the Biden-era TSCA rule phasing out six uses of chrysotile asbestos and instead issue new worker protection guidance on the 2024 rule, came after Administrator Lee Zeldin overruled two other senior Trump EPA appointees, a source with knowledge of the internal matter says.
House appropriators are outlining their priorities for funding to address workplace safety and health issues, highlighting concerns about drug overdoses, mining issues, firefighting-related cancer and health issues for vehicle mechanics, with many of their recommendations focused on the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The full House Appropriations Committee has approved a fiscal year 2026 spending bill that slashes the budgets for OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), though it is not clear if the cuts will survive upcoming budget negotiations.
California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is slated to consider at its meeting later this month two petitions that board staff are proposing to mostly reject -- one to delay implementation of federal rules to protect residential construction workers from falls, and the other to expand a standard to protect dairy and poultry workers from bird flu.
OSHA has renewed voluntary worker safety information agreements with solid waste and recycling trade groups as part of its Alliance Program, highlighting a range of areas where the participants will serve as “information intermediaries” aiding the agency in its outreach efforts.