Worker Safety Expert and KI Fellow Debbie Berkowitz Warns Employer Friendly Federal Rules Could Endanger Workers | NYTimes

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“Trump Administration Is Undoing Plans to Boost Workplace Heat Protections“

The Trump administration is moving to rewrite Biden-era rules that would mandate breaks and access to water and shade for workers, in a step businesses lauded but that labor groups said could weaken already limited federal protections. Congress is considering legislation that would go a step further, prohibiting the Labor Department from adopting the Biden-era heat plan or similar rules.

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But labor groups say an employer-friendly federal rule could not only endanger workers in the states OSHA directly oversees, but also weaken protections in the other states. That could prompt business groups to pressure regulators to scale back or rescind any stronger rules in place at the state or local level, said Debbie Berkowitz, who served as senior policy adviser at OSHA under President Barack Obama.

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