On January 3, 2025, Andy Biggs (R - AR - 5) introduced a new, if exceedingly brief, piece of legislation that would result in the abolition of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Its formation was the result of the Occupation Safety and Health Act, signed into being by former Republican President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970.
According to OSHA's website, their mission is to, "Assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance."
As part of his media release regarding the new bill, H.R.86 - NOSHA Act, in which the law has a grand total of only 67 words, Andy Briggs was quoted saying, "OSHA’s existence is yet another example of the federal government creating agencies to address issues that are more appropriately handled by state governments and private employers."
Despite this rationale, the bill itself lacks any further language which would require states to adopt their own set of safety rules and standards prior to the discontinuation of the federal requirements he seeks to end. This potentially leaves a dangerous gap for employees and below-the-line workers to suffer the risks of dangerous working conditions without recourse or protections that OSHA currently provides.
Some of the additional duties overseen and enforced by OSHA include certain protections for corporate whistleblowers who report on their employer's potentially unsafe or illegal activities.
Workers Caught In The Middle
While the merit of state sponsored safety agendas versus federally mandated guidelines is an intellectual and political argument, one that politicians and lobbyists can wage in the halls of the nation's Capital; road builders, construction workers, as well as everyone else in the country, form their livelihoods in the real world where those guidelines save lives on a daily basis.
For instance, in the asphalt and road building industries it's not uncommon for an employee to travel across state lines for a job on a given day, especially in rural or high-traffic interstate regions. When they go to the jobsite, should construction workers have to be concerned that the quality and standard for safety could dramatically change depending on their geographic location, or should the same standard of human safety be consistently applied for all those who put their lives on the line?
Since the establishment of OSHA in 1970, there has been a significant decline in workplace fatalities and injuries. Since its inception, OSHA's efforts have contributed to a reduction in workplace fatalities by almost 63% and a decrease in workplace injuries by 40%.
TESLA, Musk, and Conflicting Interests
It would impossible to talk about the new administration without mentioning its obvious coziness with foreign national and billionaire businessman Elon Musk. The eccentric South African investor has recently embedded himself at various levels of the federal government, enforcing sweeping federal purges of both staff and policy.
While some welcome the apparent cuts to spending and "waste," it should be noted that several corporate holdings connected to Mr. Musk are currently under investigation by OSHA over concerns for worker safety. Additionally, there are a string of run-ins with OSHA that date back more than a decade.
Most recently, in August 2024, when an employee perished at the TESLA Gigafactory in Austin, TX, the resulting OSHA investigation report of which will come due by the end of February 2025.
Prior to that incident, at the same TESLA location, OSHA issued multiple citations after four employees were reportedly exposed to dangerous chemicals and working conditions without proper safety gear or training.
In 2022, during the actual construction phase for the same TESLA Gigafactor, according to a local news report, "multiple Gigafactory workers filed defense cases against the Department of Labor and OSHA over allegations of labor and employment violations during the construction period of the facility. Allegations from the Workers Defense Project included wage theft, workplace injuries, OSHA violations and fraudulent OSHA certificates for training that workers never received."
And these incidents don't just reflect a current trend, the conflict between Musk and OSHA has a long history. This graph from TheDrive.com dated 2014-2018 that shows just how TESLA compared to the other major United States auto manufacturers:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/26727/tesla-had-3-times-as-many-osha-violations-as-the-10-largest-us-plants-combined#:~:text=From%20the%20period%20of%20Aug,resulted%20in%2018%20OSHA%20violationsTheDrive.com
For some, these might be broadly considered a conflict of interest between his new inner-circle position with the President, and his profits as a businessman. Whether the guidelines and rules come from a federal or state body are less important than the day-to-day safety of the working class in America, construction workers or otherwise.
If you'd like to raise concerns about the possible shuttering of OSHA and the endangering of workers across the country, please contact your local representatives and make your voice heard.
Additionally, here is the contact phone number for congressman Andy Briggs' office, which you can call directly at (202) 225-2635.
