Rulemaking

Republicans on the House Workforce Committee are renewing their attacks on OSHA’s rulemaking to revive an Obama-era policy allowing worker representatives to take part in enforcement “walkaround” inspections even if they are not employed at the site, charging that the rule “interferes in labor-management relations” as the White House has begun reviewing the final policy.

Democratic state attorneys general (AGs) are again petitioning OSHA for an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers in extreme heat exacerbated by climate change, arguing that the spike in heat-related injuries and illnesses during the summer of 2023 shows the need for immediate action ahead of the agency’s long-pending permanent rule.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has begun review of OSHA’s final rule expected to revive an Obama-era policy allowing worker representatives to take part in enforcement “walkaround” inspections even if they are not employed at the site, despite warnings from industry that the regulation is legally vulnerable.

Chemical-sector groups are urging the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to loosen a long-awaited update to OSHA’s hazard communication standard (HCS) governing safety labels for toxic, flammable and otherwise dangerous chemicals, focusing on claims that the 2021 proposal adds unneeded complexity and data-gathering burdens.

OSHA is set to publish its long-anticipated proposal setting health and safety standards for “emergency responders” in the Feb. 5 Federal Register, kicking off a 90-day public comment period more than a month after the agency posted the rule online.

Chemical-sector and other industry groups are urging EPA to loosen a host of new worker-safety requirements in its proposed reworking of Trump-era TSCA rules governing two persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals that they say would be too restrictive, saying the agency should instead defer to occupational-safety “professionals” on what protections are needed.

Attorneys are urging employers to begin preparing to comply with California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) landmark indoor heat worker-safety rules expected to take effect July 1, saying the agency is likely to make the standards an immediate area of “emphasis” for enforcement despite their complex and lengthy suite of requirements.

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su used a Jan. 26 event to back Democrats’ latest iteration of a bill that would set a strict deadline for OSHA to enact its long-delayed workplace violence standard for the healthcare sector, despite the agency’s failure to even set a target for a proposal some eight years after beginning the rulemaking process.

Republican leaders for the House Energy and Commerce Committee are urging EPA to withdraw and repropose its upcoming Risk Management Program (RMP) rule update, charging that the proposed version conflicts with OSHA and other agencies’ responsibilities, goes beyond Congress’ explicit mandates, and raises security concerns among things.

In the aftermath of a series of fires at renewable fuel refineries that led to at least one worker suffering critical burns, the United Steelworkers (USW) is petitioning California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to develop an emergency temporary standard (ETS) that would subject those facilities to the same tough worker-safety rules the state applies to petroleum refineries.