Government Affairs

Update: 4/11/2025

HHS Restructuring Leads to Major NIOSH Cuts
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is undergoing an extensive restructuring, which includes moving NIOSH under the newly formed Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). This shift will drastically reduce NIOSH’s workforce and raises concerns about the future of workplace safety research and evidence-based interventions that protect worker well-being. ASSP is calling on Congress to reverse the proposed cuts to NIOSH.  Read more

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATES – 09/10/2024

LEGISLATION UPDATE – HEAT STRESS

provided by: Asher Tobin – Chapter Government Affairs Chair

The OSHA heat proposed rule was released today in the Federal Register.  The OSHA rule addresses both indoor and outdoor work settings.

ASSP will be putting a draft comment together, and we expect it will be long, detailed, and include advocacy of our consensus standards such as A10.50.  We expect this will be a big one.

We will also copy in our ANSI/ASSP Standards Participants.  Many of them have background with this issue and their comments would be welcome.

The SDC is also being notified due to the ongoing work to raise awareness of our ANSI/ASSP A10.50 Heat Stress Standard [Construction and Demolitions Operations].

The comment is due to OSHA by December 24th.  That means we will need to have a full completed draft comment ready for ASSP leadership review sometime around November 8th.  To this end, please let us know if you have preliminary insights or thoughts.

Our original/current overall position is:

ww.assp.org/position-statements

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) strives to elevate the safety profession and the individuals who choose it. We set the occupational safety and health community’s standards for excellence and ethics. ASSP strives to uphold and elevate the value of the safety profession through innovation and thought leadership, and supports the development and dissemination of objective, data-driven solutions based safety and health practices.

On Sept. 20, 2021, the Biden Administration announced the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will take the following actions to address extreme heat exposure: 

  • To combat the hazards associated with extreme heat exposure – both indoors and outdoors – the White House today announced enhanced and expanded efforts the U.S. Department of Labor is taking to address heat-related illnesses. 
  • To emphasize its concern and take necessary action, OSHA is implementing an enforcement initiativeon heat-related hazards, developing a National Emphasis Program on heat inspections, and launching a rulemaking process to develop a workplace heat standard. In addition, the agency is forming a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Work Group to provide better understanding of challenges and to identify and share best practices to protect workers.

To address these initiatives, ASSP takes the following position:

  • ASSP supports public and private sector initiatives intended to prevent occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
  • We support public policy initiatives backed by good science and sound technology.
  • Heat stress is a well-known and largely preventable hazard, and ASSP has long supported the development of a standard for heat stress.
  • Our members stress the need to keep the standard simple from an implementation perspective and encourage OSHA to review the regulatory approaches taken by state-plan states.
  • ASSP will provide technical comments on the heat stress initiatives, including the national emphasis program, at the time of their release to address any concerns it believes warrant additional review.
  • ASSP is working with the A10 Committee for Construction and Demolition Operations to create a voluntary national consensus standard on heat stress for construction and demolition operations
  • American Society of Safety Professionals New BSR/ASSP A10.50-201X, Standard for Heat Stress Management in Construction and Demolition Operations (new standard): This standard establishes the minimum requirements for the prevention heat illnesses and management of heat stress hazards and exposures encountered during construction and demolition operations. It establishes procedures for the management of heat stress hazards and the selection and use of appropriate controls and practices to reduce risks presented by heat stress and prevention heat illnesses for construction and demolition environments.

Following release of the details for the OSHA heat initiatives, ASSP will notify and provide relevant resources on the topic to its members and stakeholders.

Approved: Oct. 8, 2021

Actual OSHA Proposal:

PROPOSED RULES
Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings,
70698–71073 [2024–14824]

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1926, and 1928

[Docket No. OSHA–2021–0009]

RIN 1218–AD39

Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings

AGENCY : Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION : Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM); request for comments.

SUMMARY : OSHA is proposing to issue a new standard, titled Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. The standard would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, with some exceptions. It would be a programmatic standard that would require employers to create a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in their workplace. It would more clearly set forth employer obligations and the measures necessary to effectively protect employees from hazardous heat. OSHA requests comments on all aspects of the proposed rule.

DATES : Comments to this NPRM (including requests for a hearing) and other information must be submitted by December 30, 2024