OSHA Official Calls for More Collaboration

September 17, 2025

 

 

OSHA Acting Secretary Calls for More Collaboration

  • OSHA is looking for more collaboration opportunities than just enforcement, Amanda Wood Laihow, acting assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health, said Monday.
  • Speaking at the National Safety Council Congress, she said OSHA was taking a more-balanced approach,”one that values partnerships and strong compliance assistance as essential strategies alongside our traditional enforcement mission,” according to reports.
  • “Small and medium businesses that don’t necessarily have the knowledge or even the resources to hire private consultants or attorneys at the ready, they need to know that we’re there to help them to answer questions,” she said.
  • OSHA this summer expanded its reductions in fines reductions for small employers who “immediately take steps to address and correct the hazard” after being cited, she said.

 

NIOSH Expands CBRN Respirator Guidance

  • NIOSH has expanded its chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) air-purifying respirator protection list workers and emergency responders, with updates to its handbook.
  • The agency on Tuesday said the number of hazards in the CBRN APR Protection List has more than doubled, to 286 from 139.
  • The original 11 test representative agents remain effective for evaluating CBRN respirator performance, representing the most probable hazards emergency responders may face.
  • The latest handbook includes updates to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards related to CBRN respirator performance.
  • As of Aug. 1, 2025, more than 500 respirators with CBRN protections have been approved by NIOSH.
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Construction Suicide Prevention Program Expanded

  • Hard Hat Courage, a mental health aid initiative launched by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and contractor Bechtel, has reached more than 188,000 construction and craft industry professionals since May 2025, AFSP announced Tuesday.
  • That included about 165,000 who participated during Construction Suicide Prevention Week last week.
  • The Hard Hat Courage initiative coalition includes CEO Advisory Council firms —Bechtel, Clark Construction, DEWALT, DPR Construction, Fluor, Kiewit, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), Skanska, and Turner.
  • The construction industry has the second highest rate of suicide in the United States at 53.3 per 100,000 workers according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
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