OSHA used a recent meeting with its advisory panel on construction issues to preview the “structure” of its impending heat illness and injury prevention standard, highlighting how it plans to identify heat hazards in the rule, set triggers for action, and require emergency response planning and heat condition monitoring, among other elements.
A coalition of Republican officials from 14 states has formally challenged EPA’s controversial update to the risk management program (RMP), signaling that they will argue the new rule’s mandate for facilities to assess and adopt “safer” technologies carries no clear benefits that would justify its compliance costs.
Employer attorneys are stepping up efforts to prepare companies for the July 1 compliance deadline of California’s landmark, multi-layered workplace violence-prevention rules, while more broadly warning that other states will likely adopt similar standards based on the new policy.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su told lawmakers at a May 1 House hearing that OSHA expects to release a “notice” advancing its long-awaited heat danger standard “later this year,” and will propose a workplace violence standard for healthcare facilities “soon” -- which would be a landmark step for a rule that has been in development since the Obama era.
EPA has finalized its TSCA risk management rule for the solvent methylene chloride that top officials say will be a model for future chemical policies under the reformed law, maintaining the strict workplace exposure limit in its 2023 proposal while lengthening phaseout deadlines for some uses and adding a de minimis threshold sought by industry.
EPA has issued its final TSCA “framework” rule governing risk evaluations of existing chemicals, aiming to broaden the scope of its reviews and codify several controversial Biden administration policies including its rejection of a Trump-era approach to considering workers’ use of personal protective equipment (PPE), despite several industry groups’ claims that the new method is unlawful.
Mining-sector employers and unions alike are backing the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) newly tightened standards for respirable crystalline silica (RCS), but both say implementation remains a key question, with one union urging strict enforcement while a trade group says the agency should align its approach with OSHA’s own silica rule.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has released its final update to 50-year-old standards for respirable crystalline silica (RCS), with more stringent reporting and monitoring mandates compared to a 2023 proposal, although it also extends compliance deadlines for operators, particularly those at smaller mines.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved OSHA’s final rule updating the hazard communication standard (HCS) that governs safety labels for toxic, flammable and otherwise dangerous chemicals, after employers and trade groups warned that the 2021 proposal would massively expand data-gathering requirements.
OSHA has released an FAQ document that aims to clarify implementation details for its controversial rule allowing worker representatives to take part in “walkaround” inspections even if they are not employed at the site under review, including how non-unionized workers can select representatives and steps employers can take to avoid disclosure to outsiders.