Springfield, IL — A 14-state coalition is calling on the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed rule that would limit OSHA’s ability to hold employers accountable for known hazards in “inherently risky professions.”
The proposal would codify the principle that the General Duty Clause doesn’t authorize OSHA to “prohibit, restrict or penalize inherently risky activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic or entertainment occupations.”
According to the coalition, led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker, the agency would apply the limitation to sectors including:
- Live entertainment and performing arts
- Animal handling and performance
- Professional and extreme sports
- Motorsports and high-risk recreation
- Tactical defense
- Combat simulation training
- Hazard-based media and journalism activities
In written comments submitted to Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Assistant Secretary for OSHA Amanda Wood Laihow, the coalition contends that the proposal “places the employer’s convenience above the worker’s safety, contrary to the purpose of the [Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970].”
The proposal, the group adds in a Nov. 3 statement, also goes against the “plain language and congressional intent of the OSH Act and fails to provide a reasonable explanation for moving away from decades of established policy.”
The coalition claims that if the rule is finalized, states would bear an increased responsibility to ensure safe workplaces, more workers would be left without the same protections afforded to others, and enforcement would be reduced so the number of workplace injuries would rise.
The National Safety Council also submitted comments in an Oct. 31 letter addressed to OSHA administrator David Keeling.
“NSC is concerned that actions taken to limit the scope of OSHA regulatory authority may balloon to where the agency is unreasonably hobbled in key safety oversight actions,” NSC CEO Lorraine M. Martin wrote. “It is in the United States’ best interest to continue to have a collaborative agency and strong oversight framework – ensuring both protections for workers and compliance assistance for employers.”
Along with Illinois and Pennsylvania, the coalition includes Arizona, California, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Vermont.
