The newly introduced mine safety bill includes some additional OSHA reform items not previously included in the Protecting America's Workers Act (PAWA), specifically provisions on prejudgment interest and on considering an employer's violation history in state plans when assessing fines for repeat violations. Stakeholders are mixed on the impact of the additions and whether they will impact the chances of getting OSHA reform passed in conjunction with the mine safety reform bill.

Though a slew of Protecting America's Workers Act (PAWA) provisions were recently added to draft mine safety legislation, some major ones backed by the unions have been dropped -- including expansion of OSHA coverage to public employees and the elimination of unclassified citations, both of which provoked wariness in OSHA officials. Furthermore, a provision to prohibit policies that would discourage injury and illness reporting was also not included.

House and Senate Democrats are using mine safety legislation as a vehicle to push long-sought OSHA reforms, unveiling on June 29 a mine safety "discussion draft" that also includes provisions to hike OSHA's civil and criminal penalty authority, require hazard abatement pending contest, increase whistleblower protections and enhance victims' rights. The move was immediately protested by Senate and House labor committee GOP members, who complained Democrats are pushing a sweeping piece of legislation that "amplifies the adversarial role of OSHA and MSHA."

OSHA is facing pressure from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and could soon be fielding demands from Capitol Hill to draft fuel gas safety rules covering both the construction and general industry sectors, aimed in part at stopping the practice of releasing flammable gas to clean piping, prompted by two devastating explosions at work sites in Connecticut and North Carolina.

Construction employers are keeping an eye on OSHA's upcoming rule designed to reduce the workplace risks from combustible dust, usually identified with agricultural and manufacturing processes, to see whether it includes language geared toward the construction sector as well, according to an industry source.

OSHA is quietly proposing to more broadly enforce against hazardous chemicals at workplaces through additions to Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform legislation currently pending on Capitol Hill, according to information made available to Inside OSHA.

Small business interests are suggesting OSHA may end up in a courtroom over its upcoming standard for preventing workplace injuries and illnesses if it uses the general duty clause to enforce certain workplace areas broadly covered by the rule but lacking their own unique standards, industry sources say. Employers are also frustrated over ambiguity of the rulemaking so far and the standard's economic impact on small businesses.

OSHA and stakeholders debated how OSHA should enforce its upcoming Injury and Illness Prevention Program rule, including cases when penalties should be issued, whether to be lenient on enforcement initially and whether guidelines are needed to aid employers, during a recent stakeholder meeting on the planned rulemaking. The rule is a top priority for OSHA chief David Michaels.

As OSHA moves ahead on a new standard for injury and illness prevention, agency officials recently signaled they are leaning toward a flexible program-based approach to meet specific goals, such as removing hazards, instead of a broader management system-based rule that calls for continuous improvement plans -- good news for both those in industry and labor who favor more targeted regulations.

The Obama administration has given OSHA chief David Michaels the go-ahead to issue his first major rule, clearing the agency to issue a final workplace standard on cranes and derricks, so long as a change suggested by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is incorporated. An industry source said the final regulation will likely include a partial exclusion for derricks, which is a change from the proposed rule, but it is unclear if that was the issue addressed by OMB.

Workplace safety and health officials are dealing with competing concerns over exposure to toxic chemicals and the possibility of heat stress caused by the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the Gulf oil spill cleanup, two priorities borne out in an interim guidance from NIOSH and OSHA on worker and volunteer protections during the response effort.

Federal health agencies are planning to move forward with a first-time registry monitoring the health of people exposed to the BP oil spill, congressional sources say, a move that proponents say could help identify the harmful effects of spilled oil and facilitate needed research on long-term health risks.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a trio of petitions from industry and other private groups asking the agency to review and justify under the Data Quality Act (DQA) the science underpinning recent agency decisions on chemical and lead safety and the greenhouse gas impacts of coal ash reuse -- the first of what are expected to be a host of petitions EPA will face over data quality concerns.

A coalition of employer and union groups representing the reinforcing steel and post-tensioning industry are urging OSHA to pursue a safety standard through negotiated rulemaking to address existing gaps in safety protocols for the increasingly popular construction method. A letter signed by eight of these groups pushing a negotiated rule was recently submitted to OSHA chief David Michaels.