Inside OSHA

February 17, 2025

Editor's Note

EDITOR'S NOTE:  There will be no updates posted February 17 in observance of the Presidents' Day holiday.

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House Democrats are raising alarm over the Labor Department’s (DOL) removal of documents from OSHA’s website, expressing concern about possible destruction of documents and DOL efforts to hide valuable information from the public.

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President Donald Trump has nominated David Keeling, who has held occupational health and safety roles at Amazon and UPS, to become the new chief of OSHA, while selecting Wayne Palmer, who held Labor Department (DOL) positions in the first Trump administration, to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

The newly formed Chlor-Vinyl Industry Alliance is spearheading efforts to engage downstream users of vinyl chloride in EPA’s upcoming TSCA risk evaluation of the chemical as part of an effort to provide what it says is vital scientific and industry expertise to the agency, including on worker exposure.

Occupational exposure scientists are building on early data documenting construction painters’ exposure to PFAS with additional research aimed at developing a plan for reducing PFAS exposure and body burden for construction trades.

An industry coalition is urging EPA to rescind key provisions of the Biden EPA’s “misguided,” “illegal” and “unnecessary” Risk Management Program (RMP) rule, calling for officials to take immediate steps to block its implementation while launching a new rulemaking that will permanently end the “regulatory whiplash” that has characterized the policy over the last decade.

A federal district court has granted OSHA’s request to dismiss a California road district’s challenge to a controversial 2020 scaffolding policy, finding the district lacks standing to sue because it cannot demonstrate it was harmed by the policy.

Amanda Wood Laihow, who recently served on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), has reportedly been appointed as OSHA’s deputy assistant secretary and could serve as the acting head of OSHA in the absence of a Senate-approved assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.

In the wake of the devastating Los Angeles County fires, California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) officials are emphasizing in new guidance that domestic workers are covered by agency labor code rules governing fire debris removal if they are helping to clean up properties impacted by the fire damage.

Legal experts are urging companies to ensure their nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) comply with a key federal whistleblower protection law, warning that failure to do so could result in additional charges or penalties in federal antitrust cases.

Representatives of several community and employee-safety organizations are pressing California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to bolster standards and enforcement of rules to protect dairy and poultry workers from the bird flu strains that are spreading in the state.

 

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