Judge Throws Out South Carolina Suit Seeking Shield From OSHA

A federal judge Thursday dismissed South Carolina’s lawsuit seeking to prevent OSHA from forcing the state to increase maximum fines for workplace safety violations.

In a 10-page decision, US District Judge Sherri Lydon said she concluded the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s decision in 2022 requiring state workplace safety program maximum fines to match federal maximums wasn’t “a reviewable agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.”

“We thus do not have jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims and must dismiss their complaint,” the judge from the US District Court for the District of South Carolina wrote.

Although OSHA hadn’t taken any actions ...