Rulemaking

OSHA is considering expanding its so-called “lockout/tagout” safety standard governing excess energy in power equipment to allow control circuit type devices -- such as push buttons and selector switches -- to be used to shutter equipment and to extend the standard to robotic equipment, which is increasingly being used in manufacturing.

OSHA has issued its long-awaited final rule amending a series of existing standards to remove or revise duplicative, unnecessary, and inconsistent requirements though, as expected, the measure drops an Obama-era plan to expand when OSHA’s so-called “lockout/tagout” safety standard applies to power equipment that is shut off for repairs.

An Arizona-based group is stepping up its effort to have a federal appellate court overturn the Congressional Review Act (CRA), the law Republicans and President Donald Trump used to repeal a suite of Obama-era worker safety policies issued by OSHA.

The White House has completed review of a draft final rule that will remove or revise duplicative, unnecessary, and inconsistent safety and health standards though the measure is not expected to include an Obama-era plan to expand when OSHA’s safety standard applies to power equipment that is shut off for repairs.

EPA has expanded the number of renewed asbestos uses for which manufacturers would have to seek agency approval though its final significant new use rule (SNUR), issued under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), still falls short of calls from some states and environmentalists for even broader restrictions or a total ban.

An Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) has upheld a penalty OSHA imposed on a healthcare facility under its General Duty authority for not adequately addressing workplace violence, highlighting the issue just as House Democrats prepare to push newly reintroduced legislation requiring the agency to craft a workplace violence standard.

The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and environmental groups are suing to compel the Trump administration to finalize EPA’s Obama-era proposed ban on use of methylene chloride in paint strippers, claiming that the June 2016 revised toxics law requires the agency to protect workers from unreasonable risks.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is urging the Trump administration to ensure that EPA’s final rule banning use of methylene chloride in paint strippers protects workers by covering most commercial uses, fearing that the agency is likely to rely on a proposed training program in lieu of a comprehensive ban on the substance’s paint-stripping uses.

House Democrats have reintroduced and expanded legislation seeking to strengthen the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act by covering additional workers and bolstering protections for whistleblowers while also enhancing penalties, though an employers’ attorney suggests the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate or reach the president’s desk.

A federal district judge is ordering the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) to issue within one year a final rule requiring chemical facilities to report their accidental releases, backing health and public interest groups’ claims that CSB has unreasonably delayed the rule that could inform worker protections and is mandated by law.