A pair of Texas produce groups is renewing an industry effort to have federal courts declare that Congress violated the nondelegation doctrine when it authorized OSHA to issue whatever workplace safety standards it deems “reasonably necessary or appropriate,” with a legal strategy that is likely to increase the chances of a Supreme Court ruling.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced plans to revise the Biden-era silica rule, drawing cautious optimism from industry groups that are challenging the rule in court that the changes could resolve their issues, although the groups say MSHA has not yet provided any details to be certain.
Labor unions are touting an agreement they reached with one of the companies challenging worker protection requirements in the Biden-era EPA risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE), saying it could serve as a model to resolve other industry parties’ opposition to staying the litigation while EPA reconsiders the rule.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) is challenging a Biden-era EPA rule for evaluating the risks of new chemicals, arguing the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when it failed to respond to unions’ comments on how to ensure workers have information about chemicals to which they may be exposed while on the job.
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.
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 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.
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.
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).