Democratic lawmakers and public interest groups are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to scrap a recently announced policy allowing poultry plants to seek waivers from existing line speed limits, arguing the plan undermines USDA's denial of an industry request for broader waivers, and jeopardizes worker safety.
Industry attorneys are welcoming EPA's recent approval of a new chemical that took a narrow view of the substance's “reasonably foreseen uses” that the agency is required to consider, but are urging officials to clarify whether the approach is intended to apply more broadly to agency reviews of other new chemicals under the revised toxics law.
EPA has approved a new chemical for use under the revised toxics law but has limited its review and regulation of the substance's “reasonably foreseen uses,” a move environmentalists say signals a “reckless” process for reviewing new chemicals that violates the June 2016 toxics law by failing to preclude unintended uses from its requirements.
A three-judge federal appellate panel appeared skeptical during recent oral argument of a construction company's challenge to OSHA's “controlling employer” policy, suggesting the agency should be granted deference to interpret its authority and that officials are better positioned than courts to interpret ambiguous statutes.
Democratic lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed rule seeking to scrap most requirements of an Obama-era final rule strengthening EPA's facility accident prevention program, arguing the rollback would increase facility risks that disproportionately harm minority and low-income communities.
The Labor Department's (DOL) Inspector General has launched an audit of OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program (WPP) in several Western states after mounting pressure from years of audits related to a major Wells Fargo prosecution as well as internal complaints from a former agency investigator.
The Labor Department's (DOL) Inspector General has launched an audit of OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program (WPP) in several Western states after mounting pressure from years of audits related to a major Wells Fargo prosecution as well as internal complaints from a former agency investigator.
Massachusetts officials are signaling strong pushback against a Trump administration proposed rule that could allow for new uses of asbestos, with state environment officials raising early concerns and seeking a six month delay in the rulemaking while the state's attorney general (AG) works with other Democratic AGs to oppose the plan.
A group of 47 Democrats is concerned that a Labor Department (DOL) proposal to weaken rules prohibiting minors from working in certain hazardous operations has not been adequately reviewed for potential safety risks to teen workers, writing in a recent letter that they are unaware of any formal NIOSH review of the underlying data informing the plan.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that first responders may not have adequate information to help minimize their safety risks when responding to incidents at chemical facilities, backing Democrats' recent calls to include data sharing provisions included in a now-stalled Obama-era EPA rule in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) chemical facility safety program.