Litigation

EPA is asking federal courts to stay for 120 days consolidated challenges to the Biden-era TSCA rule phasing out chrysotile asbestos to limit workplace exposures and the new-chemicals “framework” rule governing how new chemical reviews are conducted while incoming Trump appointees determine how they want to proceed.

An industry coalition is urging EPA to rescind key provisions of the Biden EPA’s “misguided,” “illegal” and “unnecessary” Risk Management Program (RMP) rule, calling for officials to take immediate steps to block its implementation while launching a new rulemaking that will permanently end the “regulatory whiplash” that has characterized the policy over the last decade.

A federal district court has granted OSHA’s request to dismiss a California road district’s challenge to a controversial 2020 scaffolding policy, finding the district lacks standing to sue because it cannot demonstrate it was harmed by the policy.

A tissue paper manufacturer is appealing to the 6th Circuit a ruling by an administrative law judge (ALJ) that upheld findings of workplace safety violations and monetary penalties following a 2022 accident at the company’s Ohio facility.

The Trump administration is delaying the effective date of the Biden EPA’s TSCA rule banning many uses of the industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) after two federal courts temporarily stalled the rule’s original Jan. 16 effective date, subjecting the rule to provisions of President Donald Trump’s order freezing pending regulations for review.

Studies conducted for the Agriculture Department (USDA) have found only a limited association between faster slaughterhouse line speeds and increased worker injuries, prompting USDA to extend current line speed waivers until the Trump administration can decide next steps.

A California road district is urging a federal court to reject OSHA's argument that it lacks standing to challenge a controversial 2020 scaffolding safety policy, arguing that the agency's relaxed standards have caused delays, disputes and heightened safety concerns for federally funded projects.

North Dakota is suing the Department of Labor, claiming the federal agency breached the state’s sovereign immunity and violated the state’s constitutional rights by investigating a whistleblower complaint filed by a former state environment department employee.

Federal appellate judges are ordering the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and an employer to explain why their bid to overturn an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) decision blocking an enforcement settlement should not be dismissed, while signaling that the ALJ body may be allowed to defend its ruling directly if the case proceeds.

EPA is denying a petition from GOP states and chemical industry groups seeking reconsideration of its final risk management program (RMP) rule, a move that will restart paused litigation over the rule though the incoming Trump administration is expected to ask the court to remand the measure to revise it along the lines of its prior rulemaking.