Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.
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On March 18, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced $25 million in funding for the California Workplace Outreach Project (CWOP) in support of 89 community-based organizations. The initiative promotes workplace safety and educates workers about their rights. Twenty-one community groups in the Los Angeles region are set to receive nearly $6 million in […]
The Illinois Division of Occupational Safety and Health (IL OSHA) of the state’s Department of Labor (DOL) released a report of its investigation into the drowning of a public works employee in Springfield, the agency announced March 14. In February 2023, a 20-year-old maintenance worker drowned in a 12-inch water main vault that flooded during […]
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued a split 5-to-4 decision, narrowly deciding in favor of the city of San Francisco in San Francisco v. the EPA on March 4, 2025. The decision makes it more difficult for the EPA to regulate the discharge of raw sewage that occasionally occurs during heavy rains in the city […]
In response to President Donald Trump’s memo titled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” the EPA delayed until March 21, 2025, the effective date of a January 2025 regulation adding nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which makes these chemicals subject to reporting requirements under the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) and […]
It’s a confusing time to work for the EPA. In February 2025, the EPA announced it placed 171 employees in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and accessibility and environmental justice on administrative leave. “Under President [Donald] Trump, the EPA will be focused on our core mission to protect human health and the environment, while Powering […]
A coalition of environmental and community groups have filed suit against the EPA due to its delay in responding to objections filed in a petition over an Arizona air pollution permit for a new heavy metals mine in the Patagonia Mountains south of Tucson, Arizona. The lawsuit, Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Patagonia Area […]
On February 21, 2025, the EPA announced it will allow the year-round sale of higher ethylene E15 fuel. The biofuel industry, corn growers, and lawmakers from the Midwest have requested annual sales of this type of fuel for many years. “E15 is a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline,” states the Iowa Renewable Fuels […]
On January 22, 2025, in a House Subcommittee on the Environment hearing, the president of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) urged Congress to immediately make specific improvements to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) program to end industry uncertainty. The hearing, titled “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg […]
On February 27, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on its investigation into a fatal November 12, 2024, explosion at the Givaudan Sense Colour facility in Louisville, Kentucky. The explosion killed two employees and seriously injured three others, and it caused significant property damage to the facility and nearby […]
On January 20, 2025, the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, among the 26 Executive Orders (EOs) initially signed was EO 14154, “Unleashing American Energy.” Section 6 (f) of that order states, “Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of the EPA, in collaboration with the heads of any […]