New OSHRC Appointment Won’t Necessarily Revive Decision-Making

• Last week’s Senate confirmation of Jonathan L. Snare to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) will not by itself revive Commission-level decision-making.
• The three-member adjudicatory agency that has not had a commissioner since April 2025.
• Because OSHRC’s enabling statute requires a Commission quorum consisting of two of three commissioners, a single commissioner cannot issue Commission decisions or otherwise take “official action,” according to lawyer John Surma.
• The immediate effect on OSHA cases is therefore limited: administrative law judge (ALJ) decisions will continue to become final by operation of law unless a commissioner directs review within thirty days, and even when review is directed, the absence of a quorum will keep cases in limbo until at least one additional commissioner is seated.
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UL, Houston Researchers Team on Li-Ion Battery Manufacturing Risks

• Researchers from University of Houston and Underwriters Laboratories will examine potential toxic emissions from small-scale lithium-ion battery manufacturing.
• The study comes as “the manufacturing of Li-ion batteries could pose emerging health and environmental concerns stemming from emissions of toxic gases, handling of materials and management of process wastes,” a technical brief states.
• The researchers are examining whether solvents like N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), toluene and isobutyl isobutyrate (IBIB), which are used for solid-state battery production, may generate volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions during handling and processing.
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NSC Offers Guide on Building Safety Culture Thru Emotional Engagement

• The National Safety Council says that building a new safety culture that connects with workers requires four key elements and strategies.
• In a new white paper, The Heart of Workplace Safety: Fostering Emotional Engagement for Lasting Impact, NSC researchers say employers should can build a culture that “transforms safety from a compliance-based requirement into a shared, intrinsic organizational value.”
• The four key elements are: Promote psychological safety and open dialogue; Use leadership as a catalyst for internalized safety values; Connect safety to real-life experiences with storytelling; and, Measure effectiveness beyond traditional metrics.
• “In today’s workplace, cultivating a safety culture that resonates both emotionally and intellectually with employees is essential for fostering a resilient and proactive environment,” the white paper observes.
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