Workplace Safety at Risk in US  

Federal health and safety initiatives are in trouble as NIOSH is decimated, OSHA’s fate up in the air

The demise of NIOSH
    NIOSH personnel on April 1 said that all agency staff, including NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard, received reduction-in-force emails at 5 a.m. that morning. Only two functions within the agency will remain — the World Trade Center Health Program and the Division of Compensation Analysis and Support, according to NIOSH sources. Read more
    Compliance and regulations expert Bernard Fontaine details the areas affected by cuts at NIOSH as well as the key consequences of this news. “The full consequences of these cuts remain to be seen, but one thing is clear: Worker health and safety in the U.S. is at a crossroads,” he writes. “The question now is whether policymakers will take steps to fill the void left by NIOSH — or if workplace protections will suffer a lasting setback.” Read the article
    In an exclusive op/ed for ISHN, former OSHA Chief Dr. David Michaels gives us the grim reality of what this means for worker injury, illness and fatalities. Michaels knows first-hand the role OSHA plays in workplace safety. He says, “OSHA inspections save lives. Closing offices will result in more injuries, illnesses, and deaths. It is that simple.
    He writes about what will happen when regional OSHA offices close and what it means for inspections, compliance, and hazard reduction.
    “It is apparent that when DOGE operatives with no expertise in government — or worker safety — targeted OSHA offices for closure without analyzing the needs of the workers or employers in the areas currently covered by these offices,” he emphasizes. Read his passionate plea

A labor attorney’s perspective
    In a recent episode of ISHN’s podcast, we talked to Chris Nickels, an expert on workplace safety and OSHA matters. He told us why he thinks OSHA isn’t actually going anywhere, what we might and might not expect, how employers should deal with possible changes and why some things won’t change.
    Nickels touches on potential impacts if OSHA's enforcement powers are reduced or eliminated including:
    • Less aggressive enforcement, especially on "general duty" violations
    • Increased workers' comp costs for employers if safety incidents rise
    • Concerns about state programs being able to handle the complexity and scale if OSHA is abolished
    • Potential reduction in manpower to investigate all retaliation claims
    • Vaccine-related workplace rules not expected under Trump administration
    • Workers' rights organizations expected to become heavily involved
    • Uncertainty may increase for employers if major safety standards are altered
    Listen to the entire podcast for a detailed look at these topics here