Diverse Workplace Safety Approaches in States Muddle Compliance

A growing number of states are trying to address heat and violence hazards in the workplace as the federal government makes little progress on rulemaking in those areas, creating new compliance costs and headaches for employers, attorneys say.

Both Kentucky and Virginia lawmakers last month passed legislation centered around workplace safety. The bills marked a trend by states either leaning into the Trump administration’s deregulation goals or taking the lead on protecting workers where the federal government does not.

The net effect for multi-state employers is navigating often very different standards, attorneys say.

“When there aren’t laws at the federal level that become the floor, and we see the states step in to make their own, we have this patchwork,” said Rachel Conn, an attorney focused on workplace safety at Conn Maciel Carey LLP in San Francisco. “It becomes a large undertaking for employers that operate in multiple states.”

While the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has made efforts over the years to promulgate rules for both heat and workplace violence hazards, the slow-moving process at the federal level has prompted some states to step in—including recently New Mexico for heat and at least eight states in 2025 for workplace violence.

Five other states—California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington—have heat standards.

There’s little consistency between the heat plans, which is creating complex compliance obligations for multi-state employers, according to Alana Genderson, a partner at Sidley Austin LLP.

Because heat isn’t experienced the same across the country, state plans have identified different ways for employers to assess heat stress—including through the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature method, the Heat Index, or both. WBGT accounts for temperature, humidity, and radiant heat while the heat index combines temperature and humidity.

“The real cost is this web of state laws that employers are facing with different heat thresholds,” Genderson said.

Beyond Compliance

Blue states like California, Oregon, and Washington lead in agenda-setting efforts for worker protections, while red and purple states with OSH plans like Kentucky are letting the federal government lead.

States like California and others known for their progressive policies often emphasize worker protections as they consistently implement state-specific regulations for hazards not seen at the federal level, like workplace violence.

These variations can lead to questions of preemption as localities and states look to adopt a different approach to worker safety laws than what is expected at the federal level. Jennifer McNelly, CEO of the American Society of Safety Professionals, said companies should go beyond the minimum of meeting basic compliance to address the variation.

Safety should be driven by business outcomes with employee engagement remaining critical, she noted, citing the ISO 45001 standard—an international standard that assists organizations in establishing and maintaining a robust health and safety management system.

“It looks at an integrated approach,” said McNelly. “Not just outsourcing safety numbers, but having an integrated approach on looking at everything upstream and downstream as part of the strategy, policy, and efforts that govern good safety in business.”

The standard establishes a criterion for businesses that incorporate employee feedback, legal compliance, incident investigation, and procedures to conduct hazard identification and risk assessments.

Still, McNelly notes a structural leadership gap trend taking place at companies experiencing significant growth, organically or through acquisition.

Businesses “need to be stronger influencers, they need to be internal business consultants and advisers across the enterprise,” McNelly said.

State Safety

States are taking different approaches to address workplace violence and safety.

Virginia lawmakers, led by Del. Jeion Ward (D) sought to require companies with 100 or more employees to develop, implement, and maintain a workplace violence policy by January 2027. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) ultimately vetoed that legislation, with the Virginia House of Delegates later sustaining his veto.

Courtney M. Malveaux, a partner at McGuireWoods and former Virginia labor commissioner, said the bill signals what Democrats will expect from the state workplace agency if the party retakes the governor’s office this November.

“The purpose of the bill was to send a signal to the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board to consider a state-specific standard on this,” Malveaux said.

On the other hand, the Republican-controlled legislature in Kentucky overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a measure (HB398), which builds on a 2021 law that prevented the state from issuing any new worker safety regulations.

The new law passed by the state lawmakers will block the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board from enforcing any worker safety regulations not already enacted at the federal level.

Too Weak?

Kentucky is one of the 22 states with OSHA approval to operate a job safety agency covering both private and public sector workers. The new law—which requires a citation to be issued promptly after an inspection, among other things—has faced criticism that it erodes safety measures in the state.

Beshear, in his veto message, says the measure would make Kentucky workers less safe by handing enforcement authority to the federal government.

“The Commonwealth would not be able to enforce its regulation requiring fall protection at heights of 10 feet and greater, because federal regulations start at 30 feet,” Beshear said. “This would not protect those like the worker who died after falling from 18 feet and 7 inches above the ground because of the nonenforcement of use of fall protection systems.”

OSHA retains the right to revoke a state plan status if they don’t maintain standards that are at least as effective as the federal level, according to Malveaux.

Federal law says OSHA can take over a state worker safety program if it isn’t “at least as effective as” the federal agency. South Carolina and Arizona most recently became embroiled in fights with federal OSHA over their power to enforce worker safety protections.

While Arizona officials approved measures sought by OSHA before the revocation reached a judge, South Carolina is still challenging the federal agency’s authority to set fine maximums and minimums for state inspectors.