As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office, it’s worth asking what OSHA might look like under his administration, especially as compared to the last four years under President Donald Trump’s “regulation roll-back” agenda.
The fate of a new coronavirus relief package is still uncertain and lawmakers face a Dec. 11 deadline to come up with funding to keep the federal government open.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) H.R. 2694 passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September by a vote of 329 to 73. At the time of this writing it is uncertain if the Senate, followed by President Trump’s signature, has passed the PWFA into law.
For all the COVID-19 safety guidelines circulating, some hundreds of pages long, basic best practices are straightforward and known by most Americans. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, recently recounted them in an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced on Thursday, June 11, an expansive plan to restart the economy and protect public health during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including federally funded testing for every worker called back on the job.
The newly christened House Education and Labor Committee has announced its sub-committee assignments for the 116th Congress.
The Workforce Protections sub-committee which covers workplace safety and health issues, workers compensation and trade, international labor rights, and immigration issues as they affect employers and workers, will be chaired by Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC). Bradley Byrne (R-AL) will be the Ranking Member.
Some 800,000 furloughed federal employees – along with government contractors and business owners who rely on federal workers – are feeling increasingly stressed out by the partial government shutdown, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).
Although the partial shutdown of the federal government continues to affect many agencies, the U.S. Department of Labor – of which OSHA is a part – is open and funded as a result of spending bills that were previously passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump.
The ongoing federal government shutdown is posing a threat to public health, according to the American Public Health Association (APHA).
The organization’s executive director, Georges C. Benjamin, identified the Indian Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, parts of the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as funding losers due to the shutdown.
