Labor officials are arguing President Donald Trump's recent executive order (EO) requiring OSHA and other agencies to eliminate two existing rules for every new one, and the prospect he will back lawmakers' push to eliminate an Obama policy seeking to prevent federal contractors from violating labor laws, shows the new president failing workers.
Worker safety advocates are decrying Republican lawmakers' push to repeal the Obama administration policy requiring federal agencies to consider worker safety and other labor law violations in procurement, saying it is likely the start of “a sustained assault” by the GOP and the Trump administration on worker protections.
A worker advocacy group is urging the Senate to vigorously investigate the health and safety record of Andrew Puzder, the fast-food magnate President Donald Trump has nominated to head the Labor Department, arguing that Puzder fails to acknowledge the role of regulation in protecting workers, and hailing the Obama OSHA's record of strong enforcement.
Environmental justice advocates are pushing back against expectations that the incoming Trump administration will seek to roll back EPA's recently-announced final rule overhauling the agency's facility safety program with new hazard analysis and auditing requirements, but acknowledge that the rule's industry opponents have various tools to undercut it.
EPA's final rule strengthening its facility safety program includes new requirements for hazard analysis, auditing and information sharing, though the agency eased some proposed provisions to address concerns from industry and state officials, including those raised by President-elect Donald Trump's intended nominee to run the agency, though it is not clear if the changes will satisfy critics' calls to block or kill the measure.
Industry attorneys are highlighting challenges companies face under an Obama administration policy of targeting worker safety violations with environmental laws, including increased penalties, vague standards and more complex dealings with federal safety investigators -- areas the incoming Trump administration may target in scaling back enforcement.
Industry attorneys, including a former George W. Bush OSHA chief, expect that President-elect Donald Trump will significantly reduce OSHA enforcement efforts, by limiting future penalty increases, tightening the window for repeat violations, and putting the agency's severe violator enforcement program (SVEP) on the “chopping block.”
OSHA has issued guidance detailing steps small construction firms must take to comply with the agency's final rule strengthening its silica standards, signaling agency plans to advance the rule's implementation despite an industry legal challenge and expected pushback from President-elect Donald Trump's administration and Republican lawmakers.
Environmentalists are pressing departing Obama administration officials to strengthen EPA's upcoming final rule revising its facility safety regulation even as the measure faces a growing threat that the next Congress, backed by President Donald Trump, will eliminate the rule under privileged processes guaranteed by the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
Several industry attorneys say President-elect Donald Trump will likely seek to roll back many OSHA rules issued under the Obama administration, though it is unclear when Trump's administration will start that effort and which of the wide range of tools it will employ, given Trump's lack of specific statements on OSHA during the campaign, and other priorities.