OSHA Nominee Commits to Workplace Violence Proposal

• David Keeling, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the OSHA, told a Senate panel on Thursday that the agency will issue a regulation to address workplace violence.
• Setting out his priorities, Keeling told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on his nomination that he hoped to move beyond “simple regulatory compliance and post-injury response to injury prevention and informed design.”
• A second goal is to expand potential collaboration and cooperation with professional groups, companies and unions.
• A third priority is to “to greatly enhance onsite safety efforts through predictive analytics.”
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Names in Workplace Probes Get Washington State Records Protection

• A recently signed amendment to the Washington State Public Records Act requires removing the names and identifying information of complaining parties and witnesses who provide statements, interviews, and/or information in certain public employer workplace investigations.
• The amended provision, effective July 27, 2025, also requires that voices in audio recordings be altered to protect the identities of witnesses involved in investigations of harassment, discrimination, and other workplace issues.
• Despite these new privacy protections, the names of elected government officials accused of misconduct will still be publicly accessible.
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Florida Boosts Firefighter Health, Safety Measures

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill designed to boost the health and safety of firefighters.
  HB 929 revises the Florida Firefighters’ Occupational Safety and Health Act to include occupational diseases and mental health ramifications in response to the everyday risks firefighters face.
• The bill creates work schedules to limit work hours to 42 per week.
• DeSantis said it should reduce firefighter burnout and fatigue.
• This bill, along with a new law that expands employer-paid health insurance benefits to firefighters who become totally or permanently disabled during an official training exercise, goes into effect on July 1.
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Staff-on-Staff Conflicts Biggest Nursing Home Safety Concern

• Recent results from federal Surveys on Patient Safety Culture show that 43% of respondents reported that their coworkers are rude or bully other staff.
• Data from the 2025 Updated SOPS Workplace Safety Results for Nursing Homes shows that staff remain split on whether their workplaces are safe environments for employees, with just 54% rating them very good or excellent.
• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality surveyed more than 3,600 respondents from 72 nursing homes.
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