Small business advocates are urging OSHA to withdraw the Biden-era proposed heat standard and start over, pointing to the proposal’s failure to address multiple issues raised by a federal review panel, though they say if the agency decides to propose a new rule, it should use performance-based outcomes rather than prescriptive mandates.
Environmental and labor groups are expected to reiterate their strong support for the Biden-era proposed heat illness and injury standard during an upcoming public hearing while urging OSHA to make additional changes to the regulation that they argue will strengthen it and prevent even more deaths as extreme heat becomes more common.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups are urging OSHA to shift the Biden-era proposed heat safety standard from a one-size-fits-all prescription to a performance-based standard, similar to recent Nevada requirements, a message they are expected to deliver at an upcoming hearing on the proposal.
Occupational exposure scientists are building on early data documenting construction painters’ exposure to PFAS with additional research aimed at developing a plan for reducing PFAS exposure and body burden for construction trades.
In the wake of the devastating Los Angeles County fires, California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) officials are emphasizing in new guidance that domestic workers are covered by agency labor code rules governing fire debris removal if they are helping to clean up properties impacted by the fire damage.
The ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County are prompting California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to alert employers to abide by worker-safety rules aimed at protecting employees from unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke, with fears rising that the threat could spread even farther.
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) is touting what it says is the state’s first citation for a “willful” violation of outdoor heat safety standards, targeting a landscape maintenance company with a fine of more than $276,000 and underscoring the agency’s renewed commitment to bolster enforcement efforts.
California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is launching an advisory committee that will weigh amending state safety rules to eventually allow deployment of certain types of autonomous agricultural equipment, amid continued pushback from labor advocacy groups.
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) and state prison officials plan to propose indoor heat safety rules specific to correctional institutions, after the state exempted those facilities from its first-time heat standards covering all other employers shortly before they took effect in July.
Labor unions are urging California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) and its standards board to thoroughly consider potential dangers workers could face from increased use of autonomous vehicles (AVs), including through an advisory committee agency staff have proposed to help craft what would be a first-time rule for autonomous tractors in the agriculture sector.