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Congressional Lawmakers Praise and Lambaste OSHA’s Policies


rss.shrm.org | Leah Shepherd

​Congressional lawmakers scrutinized the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) policies and priorities at a recent hearing, with some concerned that a potential government shutdown could jeopardize workplace safety. A few days later, Congress passed a bill to keep the government running until Nov. 17. However, with Congress disorganized following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s, R-Calif., ouster as the speaker of the House of Representatives, another possible shutdown might not be averted in mid-November.

If the federal government closes, OSHA could not conduct proactive, preventative inspections and would only be able to respond to reports of deaths or serious injury after they happen, said Doug Parker, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

Members of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce were split along partisan lines at the hearing on Sept. 27, with Democrats mostly supporting OSHA’s policy priorities and Republicans asserting that OSHA has overstepped its authority.

Heat Illness Prevention

A main focus at the hearing was OSHA’s efforts to develop a national heat illness prevention standard after one of the hottest summers on record. In 2021, OSHA released a proposed rule on workplace heat standards; it hasn’t published a final rule yet. That issue is OSHA’s top regulatory priority, Parker said.

In April, OSHA launched a national emphasis program on heat illness prevention….


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