A number of our clients have requested that we predict what will come from OSHA under the Trump Administration.
We confess that we have no inside knowledge, but we can make some predictions based on our experience over the last 50+ years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act became law (during the Nixon Administration), as well as what happened during the last Trump Administration and the recent public statements by the current Trump Administration.
First, a little background. The major activities of OSHA tend to fall into three buckets: enforcement, standard-setting, and consultation. Every administration ranks these buckets differently. Typical Democratic administrations place standard-setting as a first priority, followed by enforcement, followed by consultation (also known as voluntary compliance). Republican administrations tend to place consultation first, followed by enforcement, followed by standard-setting. We don’t expect the “Republican” priorities to change during this Administration.
We don’t anticipate an effort to repeal OSHA or an outright attack on the agency. Although few people actually like the agency, no one wants to hear about terrible workplace accidents or to think that lax safety practices are an acceptable way of doing business. So within the expected priority areas, we think there will be more emphasis on encouraging voluntary compliance through increased attention to consultation programs like OSHA’s on-site consultation programs, Voluntary Protection Programs, and various training and education activities.
We anticipate that the second bucket, enforcement, will not significantly change. OSHA will still respond to accidents and complaints, and will still issue citations and assess penalties, although probably not with the same vigor as before. Standard-setting, with the exception of standard-setting activities that undo existing standards, will be a very low priority. So we can expect the progress on a standard on heat-related illness to wither. The same with workplace violence. There will be action to eliminate the regulation that allows employees to designate a non-employee to participate in OSHA inspections, which is particularly galling to employers who fear the potential for union organizing. There will also be much less emphasis on promoting whistleblower cases.
President Trump has nominated Dave Keeling to be the new head of OSHA, which is interesting because of the timing of the nomination. Typically, the designation of an OSHA Administrator is a low priority for a new administration. It is also interesting because we know Dave as a true safety and health professional. He should be a good choice for the job. The challenge will ultimately be one of resources. OSHA is already short-staffed, and the likelihood of more resignations, voluntary or not, will make that situation worse. And it is unlikely that there will be a hiring spree. That means OSHA will have to prioritize inspection resources and find ways to respond to the inevitable accidents and complaints. It will require some tough decisions. We don’t envy Dave on that.
All in all, OSHA will still be here conducting inspections and issuing citations with increasingly high penalty amounts. Ensuring employee safety and OSHA compliance will still be the right thing to do – and good business.