OSHA under Trump Halts Public Identification of Offenders

As the agency transitions to leadership by U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s administration, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) no longer issues press releases identifying offenders in enforcment actions and fines levied on companies that break workplace safety rules, The New York Times reported Monday. Though OSHA stopped publicizing the actions through statements on its website, enforcement efforts have been ongoing since Trump took office, according to the Times and local media reports examined by Powder & Bulk Solids.

“In a sharp break with the past, the department has stopped publicizing fines against companies. As of Monday, seven weeks after the inauguration of President Trump, the department had yet to post a single news release about an enforcement fine,” the Times piece explained.

The agency typically publishes about 460 news releases on fines and enforcement actions each year, Eric Conn, a Washington D.C. lawyer who tracks OSHA cases, told the Times. However, OSHA's area offices are apparently distributing press releases on enforcement to local media organizations, based on recent media monitoring by Powder & Bulk Solids of such incidents.

Powder & Bulk Solids, which often reports on the enforcement actions of OSHA, also noticed the absence of press releases on fines since the new administration took office.

A spokeswoman from OSHA, Jillian Rodgers, declined to comment on the matter when queried by the Times, but said the agency’s enforcement actions were not impacted by the new administration and claimed that their enforcement efforts were “reflected across various media channels” such as social media.

“The Trump administration and lawmakers seem to be making good on commitments to roll back regulations on businesses, and OSHA appears to be a prime target,” summarized the Times.

As a number of OSHA rules and practices come under fire – from rules on recordkeeping and Silica exposure to the publicizing of fines against companies – it remains unclear if and when the public will be provided with information on enforcement actions again.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated on Friday, Mar. 17, 2017 to provide greater clarity on OSHA's current situation. Details were added on the agency's failure to publish information on enforcement actions under the new administration, clarifying that OSHA area offices have been providing local media organizations with information on enforcement actions since Presdient Trump took office, while the main website of the federal agency stopped publishing press releases on the actions.