Employer attorneys are urging companies to reexamine their environment, health and safety (EHS) recordkeeping policies in light of updated OSHA inspection guidance, warning that even companies with comparatively low injury and illness rates may be flagged for inspection if OSHA suspects inaccurate reporting.
May 24, 2025
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Labor unions and Democratic lawmakers are mounting an aggressive campaign to reinstate the work force slashed by the Trump administration at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), with lawmakers raising concerns in congressional hearings and unions suing to ensure “the whole of NIOSH is functional.”
Unions are urging a federal appeals court to reconsider its denial of their motion to intervene in litigation over the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) silica dust rule, arguing the court acted prematurely and failed to consider key arguments supporting their participation.
North Dakota is urging a federal court to reject OSHA’s efforts to dismiss litigation challenging an agency investigation into alleged whistleblower retaliation by the state’s environment department, arguing OSHA’s position “ignores the finer points” of the state’s sovereign immunity claims.
Ahead of OSHA’s public hearing next month on a Biden-era proposed heat illness prevention rule, House Republican lawmakers and industry representatives are pointing to the rule as a key example of agency overreach, questioning both its utility and feasibility for industries operating across diverse climates and conditions.
California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is weighing a petition from construction industry groups to delay by one year the July 1 effective date of controversial regulatory amendments to the state’s fall-protection standard for residential construction workers that aim to meet federal OSHA’s requirements.
The Labor Department (DOL) is urging the 6th Circuit to deny a paper company’s attempt to overturn an OSHA finding the company violated so-called lockout/tagout requirements, arguing an administrative law judge (ALJ) properly found the company exposed workers to serious hazards from unexpected machine startup.
The Trump EPA has informed the 5th Circuit that it is dropping its defense of two key issues related to assessing risks to workers in a consolidated challenge to the agency’s TSCA risk management rule for methylene chloride, noting the issues are the subject of the agency’s “framework” rule that is being revised.
OSHA is confirming that employers may use their own electronic systems and forms to track workplace injuries and illnesses as long as the alternative methods meet specific regulatory requirements for equivalency, while noting the agency does not endorse any commercial products.
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.