A first-time national study finds that hot temperatures are a significant risk factor for a wide array of workplace injuries beyond heat illness or heat stroke, although state heat illness-prevention standards appear to lessen the risk.

The Senate has confirmed President Trump’s nomination of David Keeling to head OSHA and Wayne Palmer to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in a party-line vote on a package of more than 100 administration nominations for a range of positions across numerous federal agencies.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is recommending steps states should take to bolster health and safety protections for workers to lock-in current federal protections and close gaps in areas OSHA does not regulate, arguing federal worker protections are under attack by the Trump administration.

An employer advocacy group is heavily faulting California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) proposed first-time rules to protect workers from sliding and swinging gates at worksites, arguing the measures capture far too many small gates and go far beyond the breadth of coverage envisioned in a petition accepted by the agency to draft the new standards.

Employers who face deadlines to contest OSHA citations during the government shutdown should file necessary documents on time even though the agency will be unable to review such challenges until it resumes normal operations, attorneys with the firm Conn Maciel Carey recommend.

Employers who face deadlines to contest OSHA citations during the government shutdown should file necessary documents on time even though the agency will be unable to review such challenges until it resumes normal operations, attorneys with the firm Conn Maciel Carey recommend.

If there is a lapse in federal appropriations for the Labor Department (DOL), OSHA expects to furlough nearly three-quarters of its employees and be limited only to functions concerning matters “of emergencies involving the safety of human life or protection of property,” according to a DOL contingency plan.

Mining industry groups are generally backing the goals of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) proposal to allow use of electronic surveying equipment in high-hazard areas of underground coal mines under certain circumstances, but are urging some additional clarifications.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reiterating arguments that a pair of West Virginia coal miners lack standing to challenge staffing cuts at a key federal workplace safety agency, saying the plaintiffs’ attempt to seek standing in perpetuity is not appropriate under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

ExxonMobil is arguing that OSHA’s defense in the company’s challenge to a citation for failing to properly record the mental health diagnosis of an employee does little to respond to the company’s legal claims and in fact only confirms the agency failed to meet due process and Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requirements.