FTBA Safety Committee

Early bird registration rates for the Construction Symposium exhibit hall ends tomorrow at midnight. Register now and join us in the safety village! https://ow.ly/5LsW50TXtih

Register TODAY for the Florida Trench Safety Summit, Nov 22 in Orlando, FL. Please SHARE with your colleagues and clients who might benefit from a full day of safety presentations, demonstrations, raffles and food! Trenching and Excavation Safety Taskforce (TEST) National Trench Safety https://lnkd.in/e8hRn9Gy

All FTBA events below have been cancelled due to Hurricane Milton preparation and recovery efforts. We wish all Floridians safety as the Hurricane approaches. 10/8/24 - Northeast Florida Social 10/10/24 - Capital City Social 10/16/24 - Tampa Social 10/16-17/24 - FELA Class 10/17/24 - Safety Committee Meeting & Tour 10/17/24 - Gainesville Social 10/17/24 - Miami Social

BREAKING NEWS FROM SCOTUS! "Does the statute [any statute] authorize the challenged agency action?" And - who gets to decide? The Supreme Court today ended several decades of deference to federal agencies when answering this question regarding any federal statute- including the OSH Act. (It was called Chevron deference.) The 6-3 decision was based entirely on the Court's view that the constitutional separate of power requires courts to determine whether an agency regulation or other action is authorized by the underlying statute passed by Congress, not the agency itself. What does this mean regarding the OSH Act? The most immediate impact is to strengthen the pending legal challenges to the recently published walkaround rule. The rule was based on OSHA's interpretation of the words "authorized representative" in the OSH Act. Rather than defer to the agencies interpretation, however, the courts now much exercise their own independent authority to determine whether the OSH Act authorizes the new rule that would force labor union organizing upon employers without the protection of the National Labor Relations Act (which itself sets forth a process for employees lawfully selecting their own authorized representative). There will be more fallout as well, but perhaps the biggest change is that Congress must get back to legislating. If OSHA or any other agency wants to take an action not clearly authorize by statute, Congress must act and change or clarify the law. No administration now or in the future can bypass elected representatives when determining how much power they can wield through executive branch agencies. Court matter and Congress matters. Give it a read!

What is the next step for OSHA's impending heat illness standard? The current review by the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is the final step OSHA must complete before issuing a proposed standard. Once OIRA’s review is complete, OSHA will publish the proposed standard in the Federal Register and employers and other interested parties will have the opportunity to comment. OIRA has no deadline to complete its review. OIRA is required to review all executive branch regulatory actions and the review process is comprehensive, particularly with regard to compliance cost estimates and feasibility findings. Given the likely complexity of OSHA’s proposal, the OIRA review process may be lengthy. Also, the White House is typically eager to issue final regulations as the end of the term approaches, and review of proposed actions may be put on the back burner. On the other hand, the White House has been focused on climate change and protecting workers from excessive heat. For example, on July 27, 2023, the White House ordered OSHA to issue the “first-ever Hazard Alert for heat” and to “ramp up enforcement to protect workers from extreme heat.” When OSHA issued its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for heat in April 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris and then–Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the program at a press conference at a Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 training center in Philadelphia. The White House focus on this issue may speed up the OIRA review process. Stay tune and and stay cool!