Federal Agencies

The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upholds the lower permissible exposure limit in OSHA’s updated silica rule. Supporters of the rule call the court’s decision a “huge victory” for workers, while opponents say it disregards “legitimate concerns.”

The latest agenda, released in December, reflects the Trump administration’s push for deregulation, and details a plan for agencies to put forth “three deregulatory actions for every new regulatory action in 2018.”

Washington — NIOSH, OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics should team up to enhance occupational safety and health surveillance programs, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states.

San Diego — A U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to remove maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants “will translate into even more illness and injury” among workers, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

Washington — Public Citizen has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor and OSHA, alleging that the agencies illegally violated OSHA’s Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses final rule by denying requests the watchdog group submitted under the Freedom of Information Act.

Washington — An updated contingency plan released by the Department of Labor during the short-lived federal government shutdown could serve as a guideline should another hiatus occur next month.

Washington — Scott Mugno, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead OSHA, received a second approval from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Jan. 18, and now awaits confirmation from the full Senate.

New York — The number of OSHA inspectors fell 4 percent over the first nine months of 2017, according to information obtained by NBC News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Washington — Employers required to keep and maintain an OSHA 300 injury and illness log must publicly post their 300A summary sheet from Feb. 1 to April 30.

Washington — The Department of Transportation is initiating two pilot projects intended to update the department’s data analysis and integrate its current datasets with new sources, the agency announced during a Jan. 8 meeting of the Transportation Research Board.