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On March 29, OSHA issued its final rule governing the worker walkaround representative designation process. The rule allows third parties to accompany OSHA safety and health officers on facility inspections, ignoring the significant concerns raised by CWS and the 74 other organizations that joined our comments. The rule will serve to distract OSHA from its core mission–ensuring…
Read MoreOn December 20, CWS submitted comments in response to OSHA’s SBAR Panel on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Settings. In accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), OSHA convened a Small Business Advocacy Review panel (SBAR Panel) in August 2023, which facilitated a series of video conferences engaging…
Read MoreOn November 13, CWS and 74 organizations representing employers submitted comments on OSHA’s proposed changes to the regulations governing the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process. Under the current regulations, safety experts, such as hygienists and safety engineers may accompany OSHA on an inspection of an employer’s worksite. OSHA’s proposal would greatly expand the regulation and…
Read MoreOn September 26, the Coalition for Workplace Safety (CWS) and 40 other employer organizations sent a letter to the House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections calling out OSHA for its worker walkaround proposed rulemaking and the politicization of the agency that the rulemaking exemplifies. The rule would empower OSHA inspectors to…
Read MoreOn September 21, the Coalition for Workplace Safety and 74 employer organizations filed an extension request with OSHA asking for an additional 60 days to be added to the agency’s Worker Walkaround notice of proposed rulemaking. Our letter explains, “A 60-day extension to the comment period would ensure the regulated community has the opportunity it…
Read MoreOn August 29, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its new notice of proposed rulemaking on its process for employees to designate a worker walkaround representative. The proposal allows employees to authorize third parties, including labor unions or community organizers, to accompany an OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officer during a facility inspection when they are “reasonably…
Read MoreOn July 17, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its final rule expanding reporting requirements for injury and illness data for employers in high-hazard industries. The rule takes effect on January 1, 2024. The rule requires certain employers to electronically submit to OSHA information from their OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and…
Read MoreOn January 4, 2023, the Biden administration issued its Fall 2022 Regulatory Agenda, in which each federal agency announces its planned regulatory activity for the upcoming year. OSHA included several rulemakings CWS has been following and opposing, as well as two new items that are deeply concerning. Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work…
Read MoreOn July 26, the Coalition for Workplace Safety sent a letter to the House Education and Labor Committee opposing HR 2193, the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act, and urging the committee to reject the bill. Our letter explained that “heat exposure does not lend itself to a rushed, arbitrarily imposed process.” This…
Read MoreOn June 30, CWS and 62 organizations submitted comments on OSHA’s proposed rule, Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. In our comments, we express our deep concerns with the agency’s attempt to require electronic submission of employer summary data and individual employee injury and illness data. As we explained, “OSHA’s proposed rule does not…
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