Virginia has enacted a law requiring the development of a heat illness standard for indoor and outdoor workers by May 2028, joining a growing list of states that have established or are pursuing state-level heat standards amid uncertainty over whether OSHA will finalize a national standard proposed by the Biden administration.
California lawmakers are advancing a labor-backed bill to require a comprehensive academic study of California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) chronic “understaffing” and staff position vacancy rate, which would include recommendations on policies the state could pursue to bolster “career pathways” for such positions.
California lawmakers are advancing a bill to require California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to develop new rules to protect outdoor workers from “transboundary” pollution -- specifically hazards posed by untreated sewage and industrial wastewater that cross the border from Baja California in Mexico.
Employers and worker-safety groups are providing final comments on California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) proposal to update its workplace inspection “walkaround” rules governing in part who can serve as employee representatives during visits, with some calling for a pause to the process until litigation over federal OSHA’s walkaround rule is resolved.
A California lawmaker is pursuing legislation to require the Cal/OSHA standards board to adopt new standards to protect outdoor workers from “transboundary” pollution, citing hazards posed by untreated sewage and industrial wastewater that crosses the border from Baja California in Mexico.
New Mexico is proposing to strengthen its proposed heat illness and injury prevention rule by adding a new section on presumption of violation, advancing the measure ahead of its formal adoption later this year, the latest in a growing number of such state regulations while the future of an OSHA heat standard remains uncertain.
A Colorado House panel has advanced legislation aimed at pushing back on Trump OSHA regulatory rollbacks by enshrining in state law a broad interpretation of the federal General Duty Clause, although it remains uncertain whether the bill can reach the Senate, in part because it currently lacks a Senate sponsor.
The 4th Circuit has scheduled oral argument for May 5 in litigation where South Carolina is seeking to reinstate its challenge to OSHA’s requirement that states match annual increases to federal minimum and maximum OSH Act penalties after a federal judge last year dismissed for a second time the state’s challenge.
California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is requesting district attorneys (DAs) in seven counties expand enforcement and bring criminal charges against engineered stone fabrication shop owners who are violating crystalline silica worker-protection standards, as the state continues to see a rise in cases of the deadly lung disease silicosis.
Attorneys are advising employers to closely monitor a new California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) proposal to update its workplace inspection “walkaround” rules governing who can serve as employee representatives during visits, warning that the agency’s proposal goes beyond a controversial Biden administration regulation opposed by industry.