The Biden EPA has released for public comment a draft scoping document that outlines its plans for what uses of -- and occupational exposures from -- vinyl chloride the agency’s TSCA evaluation will consider, although the incoming Trump administration will craft the evaluation and may have different ideas of how to do so.
January 21, 2025
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OSHA is touting the Biden administration’s focus on increased enforcement as a key factor in a decrease in fatal occupational injuries in 2023, noting especially the administration’s focus on recognizing the disproportionate impact of work hazards on workers of color.
Worker-safety advocacy groups are elevating their press on California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) officials to advance an indoor heat protection rule for prisoners and jail staff, as the national debate over heat standards becomes more focused on states due to the incoming Trump administration’s likely deprioritization of national heat standards.
OSHA is dropping its plan to develop a final rule on occupational exposure to COVID-19 in healthcare setting, noting the lack of a public health emergency and saying any ongoing risk would be better addressed by a rulemaking addressing infectious diseases more broadly.
The ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County are prompting California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to alert employers to abide by worker-safety rules aimed at protecting employees from unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke, with fears rising that the threat could spread even farther.
OSHA and EPA have released an agreement months in the making that outlines how the two agencies will share information and coordinate when EPA is reviewing workers’ safety in its TSCA existing chemical evaluations and enforcing risk management rules, while reiterating the two agencies’ unique authorities and responsibilities.
North Dakota is suing the Department of Labor, claiming the federal agency breached the state’s sovereign immunity and violated the state’s constitutional rights by investigating a whistleblower complaint filed by a former state environment department employee.
The Department of Labor (DOL) is announcing a 2.6 percent increase to the minimum and maximum OSH Act penalties for violations cited in 2025, reflecting an annual inflation adjustment that is less than the previous year and triggering a regulatory mandate for state plans to apply a matching adjustment to their own penalties.
OSHA has appointed three new members to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) and reappointed a fourth, ensuring the 12-member panel is fully staffed although it is uncertain whether the incoming Trump administration will utilize the committee tasked with crafting policy recommendations.
An EPA draft evaluation of a phthalate known as DCHP finds that inhalation exposure to the widely used plasticizer presents unreasonable risks to worker’s health, a finding that if finalized would require the agency to write risk management rules to address risks stemming from nine “conditions of use” (COU) that contribute to the finding.