Final Union-Backed OSHA Inspection Rule Moves Closer to Release

OSHA is nearing enactment of a rule specifying that workers can choose whoever they want to represent them during safety and health inspections.

The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed its review late Wednesday of the standard, often called the “walkaround rule” (RIN:1218-AD45). Typically, the office’s review is among the last steps before a final rule appears in the Federal Register and is adopted.

Employer groups have complained that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s original proposal, issued last August, will allow union activists to participate in inspections and encourage workers to organize. Worker advocates counter that employers are already assured by federal law that they can accompany OSHA inspectors.

If finalized, the measure will largely reinstate a 2013 Obama-era policy that was reversed by the Trump administration in 2017.

Officials have said the proposed rule would clarify that employers can’t dictate who represents workers during OSHA inspections. The standard is expected to say that, at unionized worksites, labor union officials such as safety experts who aren’t employees of the company can accompany an inspector if the inspector approves.

The rule is also expected to allow workers at non-union worksites to select an inspection representative who is not a co-worker. The OSHA inspector could turn down the representative’s participation.

The rulemaking has been on a fast track, going from a notice of proposed rulemaking last summer to likely finalization in seven months. In comparison, OSHA’s proposed Covid-19 rule for the health-care sector was set for a December 2022 release, but has been under review at the White House for 16 months.

The sooner the standard is published, the less likely it can be challenged if control of the White House and Congress switches to the Republican Party, which would allow for the rule to be canceled through the Congressional Review Act.