EPA has sent its final rule overhauling the risk management program (RMP) to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for interagency review, setting the stage for what is expected to be a slew of changes to facility-safety requirements addressing emergency preparedness, regulatory definitions and extreme weather planning, among others.
September 17, 2026
Two attorneys are warning that both employers and OSHA itself face an “incredible burden” from the agency’s proposal that would allow third parties to accompany compliance officers on inspections even when they do not work for the company -- particularly when deciding who qualifies as an “authorized representative” of non-union employees.
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Trade groups and companies say EPA’s proposed TSCA rule for carbon tetrachloride (CTC) rests on an illegally strict workplace exposure limit, and improperly cuts OSHA out of the rulemaking process despite a statutory mandate to consult with peer agencies before treading into areas they regulate, among a host of other attacks.
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An employer attorney says companies, especially small businesses, are likely to push OSHA for greater flexibility in its upcoming heat-danger standard after the agency quietly released a lengthy list of “potential options” for its proposal including a range of possible heat-control requirements, temperature thresholds and training mandates.
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A prominent industry attorney says OSHA is likely to include mandates for facilities to plan for extreme weather like hurricanes in any overhaul of the process safety management (PSM) standard, building on what is already a broad push by several other program offices and agencies to incorporate weather resiliency into regulatory programs.
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The California Legislature has passed a scaled-back bill requiring employers to implement workplace violence-prevention plans on a faster timeline than a pending rule at California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) would impose, and sources say Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is expected to sign it into law before an Oct. 14 deadline.
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Echoing chemical industry groups, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) are pressing EPA to rework its proposed TSCA rule regulating methylene chloride to allow all uses of the solvent to continue as long as companies meet worker-protection mandates.
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Trade groups, congressional Republicans and attorneys are outlining arguments against OSHA’s proposal allowing third parties to accompany compliance officers on inspections even when they do not work for the company involved, ranging from claims that it is legally invalid to calling it the result of “regulatory voodoo.”
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OSHA is proposing to reinstate and codify a controversial Obama-era guidance allowing third parties such as union representatives to accompany agency officials on inspections even when they do not work for the employer under review, saying the expanded approach will bolster worker representation in OSH Act enforcement.
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Labor and environmental groups are pressing EPA to tighten its proposed rule limiting industrial use of perchloroethylene (PCE) in part by banning more uses of the solvent or even phasing it out entirely, saying the agency is relying too much on personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect workers while also neglecting risks to fenceline communities.
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