Congressional Review Act (CRA) Against OSHA’s Worker Walkaround Rule

The Coalition for Workplace Safety (CWS) circulated a letter urging support for Rep. Miller’s Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution disproving of OSHA’s worker walkaround rule.  The worker walkaround rule allows third parties to accompany OSHA safety and health officers on an inspection of a workplace if an employee requests they do so.  Per the CWS, “the rule provides no limitations on how many representatives can join the inspection and provides no guidance on how inspectors are to prioritize, approve, or manage employee requests. Finally, it violates workers’ right to choose their workplace representatives in a free and fair representation election as required by federal labor law.”

While OSHA’s regulations have long permitted an employee to accompany OSHA inspections, third parties have only been allowed to participate when the individual “is reasonably necessary to the conduct of an effective and thorough physical inspection of the workplace.” This policy enabled OSHA to balance the need for outside expertise when necessary and employer property rights. Per the CWS, “OSHA’s Final Rule, however, contradicts the plain language of OSHA’s governing regulations, longstanding agency guidance, and past interpretations of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act and could very likely result in unmanageable OSHA inspections with many different third-party representatives.”