The legal battle over New York City’s rules requiring menu warning labels for foods with high levels of sodium has ended after the restaurant industry failed to appeal to the state’s highest court.

The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Alexander Acosta as Labor Secretary on a 60-38 vote. Acosta has served on the National Labor Relations Board and has been a federal assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice and a U.S. attorney in Florida.

This 2017 edition of “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect” shows that the rate of workplace deaths and injuries remains much too high, according to the AFL-CIO, which compiled the annual report on the state of safety and health protections for America’s workers.

Earlier this week I reviewed a New York Times article on conflicts of interest among Trump political appointees that highlighted a new Labor Department Special Assistant, Geoffrey Burr. Burr is a former lobbyist for the Associated Builders and Contractors, and his federal disclosure form notes that he lobbied DOL against the silica standard and the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces regulation that would have required federal contractors to disclose federal labor law violations.

Keller and Heckman Partner Manesh Rath has been named a Client Choice 2017 winner. Established in 2005, the Client Choice Awards recognize those attorneys around the world that stand apart for the excellent client service they provide.

What can you tell us so far about the Trump administration’s record on worker safety? Already we’ve seen the Trump administration repeal two important workplace safety rules. They’ve proposed the elimination of funding for worker safety and health training programs. They’ve proposed the elimination of the Chemical Safety Board. And they’ve proposed slashing the job safety research budget.

The man rumored to be a possible contender for the post of Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA under the Trump administration has suggested that some safety and health regulations should be subject to sunset provisions –terminated at the end of a fixed period unless they are formally renewed.

OSHA’s recent decision to delay the effective date of its controversial beryllium exposure rule has generated a lot of attention in the industrial safety media, and rightly so. The beryllium rule is a perfect example of the government overreach that industry often highlights: policies made with good intentions that go beyond their stated goal.

When Congress gets back in session the week of April 24, some of the lawmakers’ top priorities will be to pass a 2017 budget and to confirm Alexander Acosta as Labor secretary.

Advocacy groups are angry over President Trump’s nomination last week of Neomi Rao for the post of administrator of the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), while a former OIRA chief is applauding the choice.