A federal district court judge at a recent hearing questioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its justification for not including worker safety provisions in its revised swine slaughter facility inspection rule, according to a Public Citizen attorney who is suing over the rule for failing to protect against increased risks to facility workers.
September 16, 2026
The California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board has approved new rules requiring employers to give workers injury and illness prevention program documents within five days upon request, over industry objections that compliance could be difficult and calls from farmworkers and labor unions to expand and strengthen the rules.
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Litigation filed by food workers unions over the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) revised swine slaughter facility inspection rule is testing whether the department has a duty to protect workers, with the challengers saying the rule is unlawful because it does not offer such protections while USDA says it is not subject to such a mandate.
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The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s (CSB) proposed accidental chemical release rule is drawing competing criticisms, with environmentalists and other advocacy groups saying it weakens reporting mandates to the point of being “useless” while industry entities claim it risks subjecting companies to “inappropriate enforcement.”
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Citing recent OSHA advice, a management-side attorney is urging employers to assess whether their workers face potential hazards from the widespread use of headphones to listen to music even though there is no OSHA standard prohibiting it.
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OSHA is updating its guidance on implementing a National Emphasis Program (NEP) priority focus on identifying and reducing amputation hazards in manufacturing industries, revising several instructions on inspection requirements, data reporting, and various other changes in a bid to better guard against such accidents occurring.
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A top OSHA official says companies’ efforts to exceed compliance with EPA regulations and pursue sustainability as a core business concept provide a model for how OSHA wants firms to “race to the top” on strengthening worker safety protections, asking an agency advisory panel for advice on how to improve safety and health management.
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The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is proposing a rule that would require industrial facilities to quickly report to the CSB certain accidental chemical releases, a measure that when finalized could fill in gaps left by the Trump EPA’s rule rolling back the agency’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) program.
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The safety advocacy group Food & Water Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) aiming to force release of data underpinning the agency’s final rule easing swine slaughter inspection mandates, a policy that the group has warned poses major risks to workers.
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A chemical industry group has told California regulators that while it has found one “possible” safer alternative to methylene chloride in paint and varnish stripping products, it is not clear whether the alternative is safe enough to win state approval, highlighting the difficulty regulators face as they seek to ban such products due in part to worker risks.
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