A former Trump administration official is warning that EPA’s latest reworking of how it sets existing chemical exposure limits (ECELs) under TSCA could be legally flawed, saying he does not believe the law “allows” the agency to craft stringent occupational exposure levels during risk evaluations but loosen the mandates in rulemaking.
The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) has finalized the first major update to its cost-benefit review guide in two decades, including changes that aim to put new emphasis on the distributional effects of regulations on disadvantaged populations.
Nine trade groups are asking EPA to initiate a pre-proposal small-business review of its hotly anticipated formaldehyde rule even before finishing the risk evaluation the policy will be based on, saying that unusual step would help ensure small employers are aware of the rulemaking process and can prepare for -- or help avert -- strict new workplace limits.
A broad coalition of employers and trade groups is raising yet more objections to OSHA’s proposal to allow compliance officers inspecting a workplace to bring worker representatives on walkarounds even if they are not affiliated with that firm, saying the rule will conflict with other agencies’ authority while also creating major difficulties for inspections.
A group that advocates for restaurant workers is urging OSHA to include kitchens in its forthcoming standard for heat danger, escalating labor groups’ recent calls for the rule to extend beyond outdoor job sites and to mandate protections such as sufficient breaks, heat education and acclimatization plans for all employees.
OSHA plans to “modernize” its long-standing Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) that recognize employers for instituting workplace protections above what regulations and consensus standards require, and is seeking input on a range of possible changes -- from incentives for joining to assessment methods and a potential “tiered” approach.
Environmental groups used a flurry of recent meetings with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew their calls for a strict rule banning all use of the solvent methylene chloride, highlighting research they say shows both its acute toxicity and ongoing worker deaths even under OSHA’s current safety standards.
As an influential OSHA advisory panel prepares to meet Jan. 10, the agency is seeking nominees for six seats on its National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH), opening a fresh round of nominations even as the agency has yet to announce selections for another four terms set to expire in less than two weeks.
OSHA has sent its long-term COVID-19 safety standard for healthcare facilities to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, moving the rule to the final stage of its administrative process after months of delay -- though the timeline for final action remains unclear at best.
The United Steelworkers (USW) is urging OSHA to quickly propose and enact a sweeping overhaul of its process safety management (PSM) standard, arguing that the current “activity-based” model is inadequate and that the agency instead should require employers to show they have eliminated process safety dangers “to the greatest extent feasible.”