The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is recommending steps states should take to bolster health and safety protections for workers to lock-in current federal protections and close gaps in areas OSHA does not regulate, arguing federal worker protections are under attack by the Trump administration.
October 5, 2025
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Employers who face deadlines to contest OSHA citations during the government shutdown should file necessary documents on time even though the agency will be unable to review such challenges until it resumes normal operations, attorneys with the firm Conn Maciel Carey recommend.
If there is a lapse in federal appropriations for the Labor Department (DOL), OSHA expects to furlough nearly three-quarters of its employees and be limited only to functions concerning matters “of emergencies involving the safety of human life or protection of property,” according to a DOL contingency plan.
Mining industry groups are generally backing the goals of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) proposal to allow use of electronic surveying equipment in high-hazard areas of underground coal mines under certain circumstances, but are urging some additional clarifications.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reiterating arguments that a pair of West Virginia coal miners lack standing to challenge staffing cuts at a key federal workplace safety agency, saying the plaintiffs’ attempt to seek standing in perpetuity is not appropriate under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
ExxonMobil is arguing that OSHA’s defense in the company’s challenge to a citation for failing to properly record the mental health diagnosis of an employee does little to respond to the company’s legal claims and in fact only confirms the agency failed to meet due process and Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requirements.
The Labor Department (DOL) is asking the D.C. Circuit to reverse several decisions from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) that rejected the DOL secretary’s changes to health and safety citations in enforcement settlements with mining companies, arguing FMSHRC overstepped its authority.
The Trump EPA is proposing to overhaul major portions of the Biden-era rule outlining how the agency evaluates chemical risks under TSCA including eliminating a requirement to make a single, “whole chemical” risk determination and revising how the agency will consider occupational exposure controls.
The House Education and Workforce Committee has advanced legislation along party lines to codify OSHA’s longstanding Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), with Republicans touting the bill’s ability to save OSHA resources and taxpayer dollars but Democrats arguing the bill will do little to actually protect workers.
California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is partially granting two petitions seeking review of separate worker-safety rules covering residential construction worker falls and bird flu exposure, though they are rejecting requests by the petitioners for emergency standards to address their concerns.