Questions on what’s coming

Enforcement and compliance are expected to be scaled way back. This is typical of any Republican-led government. The administration will probably immediately reverse most, if not all, policies and practices put in place by the Biden administration. This includes OSHA’s expanded instance-by-instance citation policy; reduced thresholds for inclusion in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program; and their more proactive use of egregious, willful and repeat citations. OSHA’s focus and purview for compliance and enforcement will likely shift toward efforts to partner with employers, workers and trade associations to encourage safety best practices, to reduce worker hazards and enhance workplace safety. 

However, if the Trump administration does follow through with campaign promises, it could go after certain organizations deemed “bad actors.” It is possible there could be an increase in citations and regulatory enforcement on those designated companies.

Additionally, the creation of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” headed by billionaire Elon Musk, could also have an effect on OSHA, but time will tell if the agency experiences any fallout. 

To that end, there will likely not be an increase to OSHA’s budget or attempts to rehire enforcement personnel or other workers who leave the agency. OSHA had the lowest number of compliance officers in its history during the first Trump term. Although Biden worked to increase personnel, the number will surely shrink under the incoming administration. 

It is also probable that under Trump, OSHA will put out fewer news and press releases. The new administration will likely move away from using accident, injury and fatality data to publicly out companies for noncompliance. Some insiders speculate they could be eliminated altogether. If OSHA does continue to issue news releases, expect them to be less frequent and to adopt a more employer-friendly tone. 

One caveat in all this change is Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer. According to Fisher Phillips, a national law firm that specializes in employment and labor law for management, “Her selection was met by skepticism by some in the employer community because she was one of only three Republicans to co-sponsor the controversial PRO Act this past July, a bill containing a proverbial wish list of pro-union initiatives.” 

Chavez-DeRemer has the support of unions, and her nomination was fully endorsed by NECA. In a Nov. 25, 2024, press release, NECA stated that “Representative Chavez-DeRemer has demonstrated a deep understanding of the critical role skilled trades play in building a strong economy.” 

It is anticipated she will work to balance employer-friendly policies typical of Republican priorities along with her charge to protect worker safety.

Possible life for the heat standard

Unlike in Trump’s first term, there will be someone appointed as Assistant Secretary of Labor to lead OSHA. It is expected that Chavez-DeRemer will play a significant role in selecting the person. With union backing, it is anticipated the nominee will be an individual with a moderate to friendly track record with organized labor. 

As a result, despite beliefs that OSHA’s proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Standard is dead, other stakeholders believe this nomination will result in a final rule sometime this year. The comment period for the proposed rule was extended into January. A public hearing to discuss the proposal and comments has been scheduled for June 16, 2025. 

Heat is a significant cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States. Prolonged exposure to excessive heat in the workplace can result in several adverse health conditions, such as heat stroke and even death. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 479 U.S. workers died from exposure to environmental heat from 2011–2022, and there have been an average of 40 deaths per year in that time. There were also nearly 34,000 work-related heat injuries and illnesses resulting in days missed from work from 2011–2020, and an average of 3,389 per year in that period. 

When the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was announced, OSHA indicated, “These statistics for occupational heat-related illnesses, injuries, and fatalities are likely vast underestimates. Workers in outdoor and indoor work settings without adequate climate controls are at risk of hazardous heat exposure. Certain heat-generating processes, machinery, and equipment (e.g., hot tar ovens, furnaces, etc.) can also cause hazardous heat when cooling measures are not in place.” 

However, it is worth noting that many Republican-led states have been reluctant to adopt regulations to curb heat-related injuries and illnesses. This includes Trump’s home state of Florida. If a final rule is implemented, it will likely be a scaled-back version that is more employer friendly.

Expect employer-friendly policies

Other employer-friendly policies that might be implemented under the second Trump administration include increased compliance assistance, a rollback of enforcement efforts and a reduction of emphasis programs. By creating additional avenues and increased access to compliance assistance programs, OSHA can create a more positive relationship between the agency and employers. This can be achieved by expanding access to the OSHA Alliance, Strategic Partnership, Voluntary Protection, Challenge and On-Site Consultation programs. 

The new administration will also likely decrease the number of emphasis programs. This is possible by not renewing existing programs or eliminating them altogether. 

The priority of the Trump administration seems to be eliminating programs that have been deemed unnecessary. During his first term he introduced a policy that for every new rule established, two existing ones should be withdrawn. 

According to Conn Maciel Carey, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm focused on labor and employment, workplace safety and litigation, “He also required a review of agency guidance, directing departments to pull public materials that arguably expanded obligations, rather than simply restating existing legal obligations. With Congress likely on his side and the judiciary demonstrating an eagerness to limit agencies’ rulemaking powers, we could see similar—or more stringent—practices reanimated.”

What happens with other pending and recent regulatory actions is up in the air. Many stakeholders anticipate the Trump administration will abandon the government’s defense of OSHA’s “Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process” rule. The rule permits certain third parties to participate in OSHA work site inspections. Currently, it is being contested in the Western District Court of Texas. However, organized labor groups are in favor of expanded participation permitted in the new walkaround rule. As a result, this is also a wait-and-see situation.

The Emergency Response Standard

OSHA recently held a public hearing on the agency’s proposed Emergency Response Standard. This rulemaking will more than likely be deprioritized under Trump, as will most of the items currently on OSHA’s Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda. Opposition to the Emergency Response Standard views the rulemaking as overly burdensome and convoluted.

If the regulation does move forward, it would include physical fitness and mental health requirements for some workers. The proposed standard would also make changes to PPE requirements. Additionally, it would require significant pre-incident planning, implementation of an incident management system and post-­incident analyses. 

This rule as proposed would affect electrical workers anytime an incident command structure is in place. According to Mike Starner, executive director of outside line safety at NECA, situations involving storm cleanup would be exempt. Instead, “The issue is active situations like a building fire, road closure due to downed wires or trees on wires with resulting fires. These are common scenarios for NECA members who have utility contracts for emergency response, troubleshooting, power restoration and high-priority corrective maintenance activity. These are situations where a fire chief or police commander (incident command) are on scene and giving direction. The proposed rule uses a backhoe example to show how a worker could become a ‘skilled support worker’ by merely being requested to perform some action by the incident commander—that would play out the same way for lineworkers.”

Recordkeeping and reporting

The recordkeeping and reporting standard put in place by the Obama administration, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” was rolled back under the first Trump administration and then put back into place under Biden’s. It is very possible that Trump will roll it back again. The rule requires certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness data. If changes are made again, it may cause confusion for many companies.

A larger role for states

While OSHA is conducting less enforcement and regulation of employers, many states will likely step up and fill the void. There are currently 22 federally approved state OSHA programs that have jurisdiction over private sector and state and local government workers. There are also seven state plans that regulate state and local government workers. 

Many of these bodies may step up and take a more aggressive stance on compliance for worker safety and health. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health held a special session of the legislature in December to attempt to “Trump-proof” the state. It is likely that other Democratic states and state plans will follow suit.

Regardless of your politics, it should be an interesting next couple of years for OSHA and the country as a whole. 

TEXTURES & PATTERNS / STOCK.ADOBE.COM