Podcast: The future of OSHA — Potential changes under the new administration

Jan. 21, 2025

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Phillip Russell shares his predictions for potential OSHA changes.

Adrienne Selko

Phillip Russell is a board-certified OSHA and employment lawyer, litigator, and advisor with Ogletree Deakins. He has 30 years of experience as a strategic, practical, and trusted partner to employers on labor and employment law compliance and litigation matters. Phillip recently spoke with Adrienne Selko, senior editor at EHS Today, about the changes, both in philosophy and structure, that he expects to see with the new administration.

Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

EHST: What do you think will change with the new administration?

PR: OSHA has been around since 1970, and it's operated essentially the same administration to administration. It really doesn't matter who's in the White House, but I think now perhaps we will begin to see a reorganization or shift in resources away from politically popular targets.

I'll point out one in particular, the warehousing and distribution industry. I think this industry has had an inordinate amount of attention and resources focused on it. And I don’t think there is data to show that it's the most hazardous. Yet you have other industries where hazards and fatalities are occurring. One in particular is the roofing industry. It really struggles with having too high of a rate of fatalities, hospitalizations and injuries. More resources should be directed there.

So, with this new administration I hope to see a substantial shift in resources. I’m advocating for that because I think it's time that we take a fresh look at the agency, how it's organized and what its role is.

EHST: Do you see any particular policy changes?

PR: I think the current proposed heat standard goes away as it is now written. Right now, it’s a long document that has a lot of details and a lot of gotcha opportunities for citations, even if the employer has already done things to minimize the risk from heat. That part will go away but in its place you’ll see performance standards in which the employer has some discretion as to what to do while addressing the hazard.

As far as the walkaround rule, I'm less confident the walkaround rule is going to go away. However, there are going to be legal challenges because I think that on its face it exceeds the authority that the OSHA Act gave to OSHA as an agency. And I think that the challenges, especially following the Loper Bright decision which ended the Chevron deference earlier this year, might mean that this goes away legally. But politically speaking, I don't think it goes away, as lot of rank-and-file union members showed up big for Trump. Also, Vice President-elect JD Vance has been more open to labor unions than you might expect.

About the Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.

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About the Author

Adrienne Selko

Adrienne Selko is senior editor at EHS Today and Material Handling & Logistics. Previously, she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. Adrienne received a bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Michigan.