Rulemaking

OSHA is proposing to eliminate dozens of regulatory requirements that it says are outdated, duplicative or improperly inflexible, including changing its interpretation of the General Duty Clause to exclude from enforcement known hazards that are inherent and inseparable from the core nature of a professional activity or performance.

The Trump administration’s plan to slash funding for OSHA and other federal agencies tasked with worker protection is drawing concerns from Democratic lawmakers, who have questioned how less money can lead to better outcomes, and worker advocates who argue the cuts are threats to all workers.

Labor unions and employer-focused attorneys are raising concerns about the effects of massive staffing cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on OSHA’s effort to develop a national heat standard, noting the current lack of neutral expertise NIOSH has traditionally provided for OSHA rulemakings.

EPA’s final TSCA risk evaluation of the solvent-ingredient 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA) finds fewer unreasonable risks to workers than a Biden-era draft version of the document, narrowing the categories of affected workers that may win protections from seven to three, and drops unreasonable risk findings for the general population or the environment.

The Trump EPA’s plan to rewrite the Biden-era TSCA phaseout of chrysotile asbestos to limit workplace exposures and further delay litigation over the measure is raising questions over whether the agency will continue to enforce the existing rule as it expects it will take 30 months -- much of the administration’s remaining term -- to redo the rule.

Small business advocates are urging OSHA to withdraw the Biden-era proposed heat standard and start over, pointing to the proposal’s failure to address multiple issues raised by a federal review panel, though they say if the agency decides to propose a new rule, it should use performance-based outcomes rather than prescriptive mandates.

Environmental and labor groups are expected to reiterate their strong support for the Biden-era proposed heat illness and injury standard during an upcoming public hearing while urging OSHA to make additional changes to the regulation that they argue will strengthen it and prevent even more deaths as extreme heat becomes more common.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups are urging OSHA to shift the Biden-era proposed heat safety standard from a one-size-fits-all prescription to a performance-based standard, similar to recent Nevada requirements, a message they are expected to deliver at an upcoming hearing on the proposal.

Public Citizen and the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) are renewing their push for OSHA to limit the work hours of resident physicians, arguing in a new petition that a medical education accreditation council has failed to demonstrate that it can establish and enforce standards for safe and healthful working conditions.

Attorneys are urging companies to ensure they have up-to-date heat safety programs ahead of high summer temperatures, noting OSHA’s continued focus on heat-related hazards through its National Emphasis Program (NEP) even in the absence of a federal standard and a growing number of states with heat safety standards.