Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta says the Labor Department (DOL) is considering writing a new procedural rule that would limit OSHA and other entities' use of guidance documents to make policy in the wake of an Inspector General finding that the agency, during the Obama administration, did not take adequate steps when issuing guidance, opening it up to legal challenges.
EPA's recently finalized rule regulating renewed uses of asbestos expanded the number of applications subject to regulation but cut some of those applications from a related risk evaluation of existing uses, angering critics who say the agency is further narrowing any future toxics rule on existing uses and shows why a total ban on asbestos is needed.
Under pressure from Democrats to quickly craft an OSHA standard on workplace violence in the health sector, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta acknowledged that DOL is behind schedule creating a special panel to consider small business concerns though he declined to commit to a series of requests for speedier and more aggressive action.
Under pressure from Democrats to quickly craft an OSHA standard on workplace violence in the health sector, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta acknowledged that DOL is behind schedule creating a special panel to consider small business concerns though he declined to commit to a series of requests for speedier and more aggressive action.
Farmworker advocates are pressing the Trump administration to preserve a provision of the Obama-era rule updating EPA’s farmworker protection standards (WPS) that limits pesticide spraying when bystanders are present, arguing the application exclusion zone (AEZ) is needed to protect nearby workers and bystanders.
Workplace safety lawyers say OSHA will have a “learning experience” from its recent high-profile loss in a review commission case undoing an agency General Duty Clause citation for a roofing firm employee’s death from heat stress, and that the agency will pursue similar cases in the future and build a more substantial legal argument for them.
As Congress returns from its two-week recess, labor groups are stepping up their calls for lawmakers to restore Obama-era OSHA rules that Republicans have reversed and craft new rules governing workplace violence, heat stress, chemical safety and other issues, though such legislation is unlikely to be considered in the GOP Senate.
As Congress returns from its two-week recess, labor groups are stepping up their calls for lawmakers to restore Obama-era OSHA rules that Republicans have reversed and craft new rules governing workplace violence, heat stress, chemical safety and other issues, though such legislation is unlikely to be considered in the GOP Senate.
As Congress returns from its two-week recess, labor groups are stepping up their calls for lawmakers to restore Obama-era OSHA rules that Republicans have reversed and craft new rules governing workplace violence, heat stress, chemical safety and other issues, though such legislation is unlikely to be considered in the GOP Senate.
Democratic leaders in the Senate are urging EPA to ban commercial uses of the paint stripper methylene chloride, saying the Trump administration's decision to limit its ban to consumer uses and merely consider requiring additional training for workers using the chemical leaves a vulnerable population at risk.