Charging their members are currently shut out of data that could be crucial to their safety, labor unions are urging EPA to require employers turn over a wide range of information on their TSCA new-chemical applications and compliance orders and are proposing a framework based on OSHA policies they say would protect confidential materials.
September 17, 2026
Industry groups are calling on EPA to rework its proposed TSCA rule for the solvent perchloroethylene (PCE) but are split on what approach it should adopt, with some seeking a more flexible policy under the chemicals law while at least one is pushing the agency to drop its worker-safety proposals and advance them through a joint rulemaking with OSHA.
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As expected, California OSHA (Cal/SOHA) officials’ latest update to proposed first-time employee-safety rules for heat illness prevention at indoor worksites rejects pressure from worker-safety advocates and some of the agency’s standards board members to tighten the draft by lowering temperature thresholds that trigger protective actions.
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Employer and industry groups are making last-ditch efforts to convince California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) officials to ease key sections of the agency’s proposal to strengthen worker-safety rules for lead exposure in the construction sector and general industry, ahead of an upcoming vote by a divided standards board on the measures.
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Major unions are criticizing EPA for excluding organized labor from stakeholder discussions on its pending TSCA methylene chloride rule, warning that the failure to consult them led to significant omissions in the proposal’s workplace protections compared with OSHA standards -- even as they praise the agency’s strict occupational exposure limits for the solvent.
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OSHA is proposing to formally require that construction employers ensure their personal protective equipment (PPE) fits workers, reviving an Obama-era plan that the agency originally advanced through the Standards Improvement Project (SIP) but dropped from that process when it drew industry opposition.
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EPA has unveiled a proposed TSCA risk management rule for carbon tetrachloride (CTC or CCl4) that would allow uses that it says represent “essentially all” annual production of the solvent to continue indefinitely if facilities meet strict new worker protection mandates -- as well as a bar against increasing air emissions to surrounding communities.
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OSHA has unveiled its final rule re-establishing electronic recordkeeping and reporting mandates for many employers, largely standing behind the 2022 proposal while narrowing several sector-specific exclusions that unions and their allies criticized in public comments.
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OSHA has sent a final rule expected to re-establish Obama-era electronic recordkeeping and reporting mandates to the Federal Register for publication, appearing to cut off long-stayed litigation over the Trump administration’s rollback of those requirements while setting the stage for a potential court challenge from employers.
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will publish its long-awaited proposed update to its 50-year-old standards for silica dust in the July 13 Federal Register, starting a 45-day public comment period and setting dates for two in-person public hearings.
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