Illinois Looks to Cover Fed Safety Gaps

Illinois Democratic state lawmakers are moving to pass a plan in the final weeks of its session to ensure the state strengthens workplace safety standards even if federal laws are weakened or repealed.
Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) told the Senate Labor Committee Tuesday that no one should have to worry about losing vital workplace protections due to shifting politics.
His legislation could prevent the state from adopting any rules less protective than those in effect under federal law as of April 28, 2025.
The plan would also require Illinois to restore any repealed federal occupational safety rules not already covered under state law.
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Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has announced CA$6.78 million in funding to protect people in the province’s natural resources sector.
In what was described as a strategic, provincewide collaboration, the WSIB has partnered with Workplace Safety North and the Institute for Work and Health to lead a proactive campaign aimed at enhancing hygiene monitoring practices and reducing exposure to harmful workplace hazards, according to a statement.
The initiative, which is spearheaded by WSN, is to focus on high-risk sectors such as mining and forestry, where workers continue to face some of the highest rates of occupational illness fatalities in Ontario.
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Art Stone-Granite & Marble has been fined $120,000 by OSHA after inspectors found the Marietta, Georgia firm failed to administer hearing conservation and respiratory protection programs identified previously on an April 2024 safety and health inspection.
Five months after the initial inspection, the company was cited for two repeat violations and 13 serious violations for not providing workplace protections for employees exposed to hazards such as silica dust and occupational related noise.
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