Now that the dust has settled from the 2024 elections, it is time to assess what impact the Trump administration will have on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA regulations are designed to reduce work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities, and its enforcement has been a cornerstone of American workplace safety for decades. However, under the Trump administration, there is likely to be a shift in how OSHA operates, based on the administration’s historical stance on regulatory reform and its focus on reducing government intervention in business practices.
It is anticipated that one of the primary objectives of the new administration will be to pursue a deregulatory agenda. The goal will be to give businesses more flexibility in managing workplace safety without stringent federal oversight. OSHA may become less aggressive in its inspections and penalty structures, which would be a sharp contrast to the more aggressive enforcement approach seen under the Biden administration.
This is because of the noticeable change that occurred with the coalition of supporters that the Trump campaign assembled to get him elected. There was a significant turnout of various labor groups that endorsed Trump and a noticeable silence by several others that had always historically endorsed the Democratic candidate. In a precedent-setting speech, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sean O’Brien, spoke at the Republican National Convention. In what appears to be a nod to labor, President Trump nominated former Oregon Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a pro-labor Republican to head up the Department of Labor, which is the department that controls OSHA.
What this means is that in contrast to the first Trump administration, the second one may not be a carbon copy of the first. Unions and labor groups will be very active and vocal if they perceive that the deregulatory agenda is threatening the well-being of their constituents. Additionally, the 22 states with authorized OSHA programs have the authority to implement their own regulations and several of them have put into place specific regulations addressing COVID, and more recently, heat illness prevention. Therefore, printing operations need to remain diligent in their OSHA compliance programs.
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