California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) has issued a revised workplace violence-prevention standard, covering key definitions, transportation applications, employee representatives’ access to records and other key measures that appear to be winning cautious support from employer-side groups.
September 16, 2026
Although OSHA lacks a federal ergonomics standard, the agency has other tools to take enforcement action against employers whose workers suffer ergonomic-related injuries, and states are continuing to fill the federal vacuum, making it important for employers to stay on top of the issue, legal experts say.
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Oklahoma has extended the deadline for its Department of Labor (ODOL) to issue workplace safety citations against public employers in certain circumstances, giving state officials more than six months to issue citations when an alleged violation arises from a fatality investigation or when third-party conduct caused the delay.
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A Nevada legislative panel is delaying action on an administrative proposal to make the state’s OSHA penalty amounts match a 2025 change in federal policy that expanded the universe of employers eligible for penalty reductions after two Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about the proposal.
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California worker safety and immigrant advocacy groups are touting a settlement between California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) and the GEO Group, a firm that runs private prisons and detainee centers, that includes a $104,510 fine against the company for violating a host of safety and other rules applying to detainees who worked at the facilities.
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California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) updated proposal to modify its workplace inspection “walkaround” rule to reflect federal OSHA’s rule on who can serve as an employee representative during inspection visits is prompting continued pushback from employer representatives who had sought a number of significant revisions to an earlier draft.
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California lawmakers are continuing to advance a bill aimed at bolstering California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) probes of serious worker-safety violations through its Bureau of Investigations (BOI), and to establish a first-time pilot program to require BOI to send fatality incidents directly to county prosecutors for faster potential criminal enforcement actions.
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The 4th Circuit is upholding a lower court’s dismissal of South Carolina’s challenge to an OSHA rule requiring states to match annual increases to federal OSH Act penalties, finding South Carolina’s arguments seeking to reinstate the litigation “hold no water.”
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California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is poised to approve an expanded set of safety rules for the installation, maintenance and operation of elevators, escalators and other conveyances that labor unions and other backers say represent the most stringent provisions in the country and could serve as a model for other states.
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Colorado has expanded its heat standard covering agricultural workers to include both hot and cold temperature extremes and all other types of workers, potentially increasing pressure on OSHA to finalize its long-pending heat standard or encouraging other states to take similar action in the absence of a federal rule.
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