Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, is defending his decisions governing OSHA and other agency regulations from his years-long record on a key appellate court, but he is drawing strong criticism from Democratic senators, who charge he will undermine regulatory protections.
As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to launch hearings, labor groups and their Democratic backers are vowing to strongly oppose Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, citing in part his record that they say shows he has backed employers over OSHA, though they face a high bar as the GOP controls the Senate.
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.
Voters in Missouri have overwhelmingly rejected a Republican backed “right to work” law during an Aug. 7 special election, sending signals to lawmakers facing reelection in November that organized labor -- concerned that such measures undercut workplace safety and other rules -- may still be playing a strong hand in the midterms.
House Republican appropriators have rejected Democratic efforts to restore funding for OSHA in fiscal year 2019, prompting renewed criticism from Democrats that the Trump administration and their House GOP supporters are not adequately protecting workers, though companion Senate legislation seeks to increase OSHA funds in FY19.
Labor supporters are concerned that President Donald Trump's just-announced Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, has often ruled in favor of employers in OSHA cases during his appellate court tenure, sparking fears that the conservative jurist will continue to express a “hostility” to the agency if confirmed to the high court.
Senators are urging the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to gather more information, more frequently about the scope of the contingent workforce, underscoring concerns by labor advocates and Democrats who are pushing legislation to better protect workers classified as “independent contractors” in the so-called on-demand economy.
House and Senate Democrats have introduced a bill strengthening public employees' right to organize and bargain collectively, pushing back against the Supreme Court's ruling late last month blocking public-sector labor unions from compelling dues, which labor groups and others fear will curtail unions' lobbying for stricter workplace safety and other rules.
Brushing aside Trump administration's requests to cut worker safety programs, Senate appropriators have approved legislation boosting funding for OSHA and other agencies in fiscal year 2019, while also instructing the agency to resume its practice of posting fatality information on its website as it had done under the Obama administration.
Senate appropriators are seeking a $4 million funding increase for OSHA in fiscal year 2019, while also preserving a workplace safety training program, a Senate source says, plans that are at odds with provisions in a companion House bill, which GOP leaders stalled amid continuing controversy over the Trump administration's immigration policies.