Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Block Federal Heat Safety Standard
- Federal legislators introduced the Heat Workforce Standards Act of 2025 to repeal OSHA’s proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention rule.
- Critics argue the rule imposes impractical, uniform mandates and excessive penalties regardless of regional climate or industry specifics.
- Advocacy groups like the NFIB and NAHB claim the rigid 80-degree threshold disregards existing safety measures and operational realities.
- They argue this uniform standard creates a significant burden for small businesses.
Washington worker crushed twice by 1-1/2-ton bucket
- The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is seeking more than $170,000 in penalties against a construction company in an injury incident.
- An employee suffered crushing injuries when a bucket fell off an excavator arm.
- The operator attempted to lift the bucket with the machine’s hydraulic arm, but the bucket slipped and crushed the stricken man again. He spent more than a month in the hospital with severe lower-extremity injuries.
- L&I says excavators on the site had “quick coupler” attachments, but they weren’t equipped with safety latches to prevent buckets from falling.
OSHA Extends Citation Deadlines as Enforcement Resumes
- Following a lapse in government appropriations, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has resumed normal enforcement operations.
- Focus will be on ensuring safe working conditions and processing health and safety complaints.
- During the shutdown, complaints were received but not processed if they did not meet criteria for excepted activity.
- OSHA says it is now addressing this backlog, and individuals do not need to resubmit.
- OSHA has extended the time employers have to respond to citations issued between October 1 and November 12, 2025, with the 15-day contest period for these citations now extended through December 4, 2025.
- Employers can check the OSHA establishment search page for updates.