On Tuesday, February 4 at 10:00 a.m., the House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing entitled “OSHA’s Regulatory Agenda: Changing Long-Standing Policies Outside the Public Rulemaking Process.”

The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), stated in a media advisory today:

“On numerous occasions the Obama administration has circumvented the public rulemaking process in order to significantly change health and safety standards.  For example, OSHA issued informal “guidance” that allows the agency to inspect family farms, despite a clear legal prohibition against such enforcement activity.  OSHA also released a “letter of interpretation” to dramatically alter long-standing policies regarding non-employee participation in safety inspections.  While previous administrations have used these tools to clarify the law, the current administration has used them to dramatically change significant rules without public input and, at times, without basis in the law.”

Tuesday’s hearing provided Committee members an opportunity to examine OSHA’s enforcement and regulatory practices.

The witnesses for Tuesday’s hearing were:

Mr. Maury Baskin, Shareholder, Littler Mendelson P.C., Washington, D.C. (Testifying on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Associated Builders and Contractors)

Mr. Bradford Hammock, Shareholder, Jackson Lewis P.C., Reston, VA (Testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

Ms. Randy Rabinowitz, Attorney at Law, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Scott VanderWal, President – South Dakota Farm Bureau, Huron, SD

Click here for a more detailed description of the event, including a link to watch the archived video of the hearing.

(Edited 2/4/2014 to include links to testimony and the archived hearing.)