Nevada Employers Get New Wildfire Smoke Rule

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) has signed a state Senate bill that provides safeguards for outdoor workers.
SB260 mandates the state’s OSHA agency to create regulations with clear protocols and employer responsibilities when wildfire smoke degrades air quality.
These regulations aim to protect workers, enhance safety standards, and reduce long-term health costs, while supporting a more stable and productive workforce.
Portions of SB260 took effect on June 10 while other facets will be law at the start of 2026.
READ MORE

Massachusetts legislators are considering a bill that would require the state Labor department to adopt strategies that can prevent heat exhaustion or heat-related injuries for workers who are outdoors.
In current form, the bill is asking for worker access to water free of charge, shade when temperatures exceed 80 degrees, cool-down intervals to prevent overheating, and, emergency response training if workers exhibit heat-related illness.
“It’s getting hotter and it’s getting more dangerous for outdoor workers, and we don’t have any at the moment state or federal OSHA standards for protecting our outdoor workers from heat illness,” said one of the bill’s sponsors, State Sen. Rebecca Rausch.
READ MORE

Ahead of the upcoming July 4 Independence Day holiday, OSHA is reminding stakeholders that its Compliance Directive on Pyrotechnics provides instructions for the manufacture of, storage, safe handling, use, and display of fireworks.
The Process Safety Management (PSM) standard applies to the manufacture of fireworks, and the directive explains OSHA’s other applicable requirements.
Explosive materials that are staged for active use in the manufacturing or assembly process are not considered to be in “storage” and may be covered by the PSM standard.
READ MORE