Congress

A staffing firm executive told House lawmakers at a recent hearing that the trend toward greater use of robots and artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace could bolster worker safety through a combination of new data-driven safeguards and shifting repetitive or weight-bearing tasks away from humans.

A House Energy and Commerce Committee panel has advanced on a primarily partisan basis a bill to ban all uses of asbestos and a package of 13 bills to deal with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), although the asbestos legislation could ultimately drive chlorine producers to use PFAS as a replacement to asbestos.

Senators in a 53-44 vote on Sept. 26 confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee Eugene Scalia to head the Department of Labor (DOL), clearing the path for him to be sworn in and pursue an agenda that Democrats fear will advance the administration’s deregulatory agenda at OSHA with rule rollbacks that increase risks to worker safety.

The Senate environment panel has approved President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), clearing the path for her Senate confirmation, though a key GOP senator continues to urge the White House to fill other current and pending vacancies to ensure CSB can continue its incident investigation and other functions.

Eugene Scalia, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Labor Department (DOL), moved closer to a Senate confirmation vote as soon as this week after the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved his nomination on a party-line vote.

OSHA and other agencies appear headed for a continuing resolution (CR) to fund their operations when fiscal year 2020 begins next month after the Senate earlier this week failed to debate the agency’s FY20 spending bill and the House overwhelmingly approved a CR that will fund the government until shortly before Thanksgiving.

Eugene Scalia, the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Labor Department (DOL), drew strong criticism from Democratic senators during his Sept. 19 confirmation hearing over his record targeting OSHA and other DOL rules though he stopped short of committing to senators’ requests for new safety and other measures they are seeking.

House lawmakers still appear divided on legislation that would reauthorize and strengthen the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) chemical facility safety program as the House Energy and Commerce Committee takes up the issue, though they are pledging to continue working towards an agreement.

OSHA this week unveiled a new voluntary alliance with three major poultry sector trade associations in a bid to allay safety concerns over Agriculture Department (USDA) efforts to ease line speed requirements at processing plants, though labor advocates are strongly criticizing USDA’s actions and calling for stepped-up OSHA scrutiny.

House lawmakers appear poised to resume their efforts to renew the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) chemical facility safety program when they return from their recess, though it is unclear whether their past pledges to seek a bipartisan deal on the issue will bear fruit.