Rulemaking

OSHA's recently-updated Unified Agenda of pending rules shows the Trump administration continuing to advance rollbacks of major Obama-era rules, some at a delayed pace, spurring renewed criticism from labor advocates who argue the agency is failing to significantly advance necessary worker health and safety regulations.

The Trump administration is expanding its rollback of an Obama-era injury and illness reporting rule with a new memo that critics say will curtail OSHA enforcement of the rule's anti-retaliation provisions, as dozens of Senate Democrats are urging the agency to drop a proposed rule that would limit the reporting requirements of the Obama rule.

Chemical industry attorneys are urging EPA to accelerate its plan to undo Obama-era changes tightening the risk management plan (RMP) facility safety program, after the agency opted against appealing a court ruling that scrapped the Trump administration's delay of the revisions and reinstated looming compliance deadlines.

OSHA is advancing plans for a safety standard to protect communications tower workers from falls and other hazards, seeking input on documents supporting a small business advisors' review this summer of effects of a rule on employers, though a former agency official says Trump administration deregulatory orders dim the rule's prospects.

The Center for Progressive Reform (CPR), which advocates for strict public health and environment rules, is urging OSHA to craft new standards to protect workers from hazards they face when responding to disasters such as hurricanes, including new protections from ergonomic risks and heat stress, and greater enforcement during disaster responses.

Industry groups are urging OSHA to broaden its proposed rollback of an Obama-era injury and illness reporting rule to further curtail requirements for electronic reporting of injury data and the rule's anti-retaliation provisions, while labor groups and Democratic state officials are arguing the proposed revisions are unwarranted and will harm worker safety.

Environmentalists are petitioning EPA to amend the agency's Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule under the revised toxics law to require businesses to report uses of asbestos, an effort advocates say would close a loophole created when EPA excluded asbestos from CDR because it is “naturally occurring,” and would provide valuable data to workers.

OSHA is seeking nominations for more than a dozen slots on its advisory committee that provides input on rules governing workplace safety in construction sector, amid controversy that the Trump administration is generally sidelining use of such panels leading to an “insular” approach to decisionmaking.

A divided National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is proposing a rule that would raise the bar for determining when contractors, franchisers and other entities are considered “joint employers,” opening the door to subjecting them to workplace safety and other requirements, arguing the rule will clarify existing confusion.

A plastics industry attorney expects that the Trump administration will not advance an Obama-era plan to expand when OSHA's safety standard applies to power equipment that is shut off during repair work, noting that OSHA did not hold a required hearing on the change, and that the agency may instead seek changes to ease the burdens of the existing rule.