OSHA is seeking to eliminate its November 2036 deadline for employers to install personal fall arrest or safety systems on certain fixed ladders.

A proposed rule/request for comments published April 6 asks for public input on whether to repeal or revise that requirement and continue allowing the use of cages or wells on ladders that extend more than 24 feet above a lower level.

The deadline was established in OSHA’s 2016 update to its standards on walking-working surfaces and fall protection for general industry, and was listed under 1910.28(b)(9)(i)(D).

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) has issued a proposed regulation (Section 331.8. Representatives during the Inspection) that allows employees to designate a representative, including another employee, a third party, or the collective bargaining representative, during workplace safety inspections conducted by Cal/OSHA.

OSHA and NIOSH have released an updated version of their joint hazard alert on respirable crystalline silica exposure in countertop manufacturing, finishing and installation.

Respirable crystalline silica exposure can lead to scarring and inflammation in the lungs, and result in incurable (and often fatal) silicosis, among other health problems.

The alert includes a table that lists the typical crystalline silica content by product, such as engineered stone and quartzite. It also outlines the requirements of a worker exposure assessment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new Safety Champions Program is the agency’s latest effort to move employers beyond reactive compliance and toward building durable, prevention-focused safety cultures.

Launched on March 16, 2026, the voluntary program provides a structured, self-guided framework to help employers develop and implement effective safety and health programs aimed at preventing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. For HR leaders, the initiative reflects a broader regulatory trend: compliance is no longer just about meeting standards — it’s about embedding safety into organizational culture.

This study examines the performance of the U.S. OSHA during the Trump Administration (2017–2021) and, with preliminary data on the 2025 term, the preceding and succeeding administrations, focusing on enforcement activity, inspection rates, staffing levels and enforcement outcomes.

Using federal inspection data and independent analyses, we find that federal OSHA experienced reduced enforcement activity, lower staffing and fewer high-complexity inspections under the Trump Administration than during the Obama and Bush Administrations.

OSHA is providing guidance on hearing protector fit testing, which isn’t required under occupational noise exposure standards but is considered a best practice.

“HPFT measures the amount of noise reduction (attenuation) a hearing protection device provides and can help train workers on what a properly inserted earplug ‘feels like’ in the ear,” OSHA says in a new safety and health information bulletin. “This tool allows workers to select the most effective HPDs that are comfortable, can be inserted correctly, and provide adequate noise reduction while allowing them to hear important communication and warning signals necessary for safety in the workplace.

Federal workplace safety regulators penalized three businesses over their failure to protect six Colorado dairy workers who were killed by exposure to highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas after a manure pipe disconnected in an enclosed space.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced proposed fines totaling $246,609 against the dairy owner and two contractors working on a manure management system. The deaths of five men and a teenager on Aug. 20, 2025, shocked the rural communities in and around Keenesburg, 35 miles (55 kilometers) northeast of Denver.

Many business leaders assume that a lack of "new" Fed OSHA workplace safety regulations equates to a period of regulatory calm and relaxed enforcement efforts by the agency. However, it has become apparent that developing a workplace safety and health strategy based on such an assumption could be a costly mistake.

While OSHA has launched an impressive number of initiatives intended to meet employers where they are, increase engagement, expand compliance assistance, and create new pathways to its voluntary recognition programs, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, David Keeling, has reiterated on several occasions that OSHA remains an enforcement agency that will continue inspecting and issuing citations to employers who fail to comply with applicable regulations.

While the incidence of workplace injuries has declined modestly since 2021, the total number of nonfatal injuries has remained consistently above 2.5 million per year. Likewise, the annual workplace death toll has remained stubbornly above 5,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The numbers fluctuate, but the outcome does not fundamentally change.

The account of accidents year after year suggests a familiar response: