Senators Note Decline in OSHA Enforcement, Call for Answers

Five Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer citing ways they say the administration is “rolling back protections that keep workers safe and hobbling the agency that is tasked with overseeing worker safety.”

The letter cites statistics that were provided confidentially to Warren showing OSHA had reduced inspections from April through September 2025 by 20 percent compared to the prior year. Furthermore, the data show that inspections that found “willful violations”—which carry stiffer penalties than many other violations—decreased by 42 percent in the time period.

“This reduction in findings of willful violations indicates that OSHA inspectors may be being encouraged to issue citations for lesser violations, allowing employers who commit serious safety violations to avoid facing proportional consequences,” the senators wrote in the letter.

They also call attention to a report published in December from advocacy organization Good Jobs First, which found OSHA penalty assessments had declined precipitously.

“From 2009 through 2024, federal labor enforcement remained fairly steady, with average yearly penalty totals fluctuating only 4 percent,” the report described. “So far in 2025, combined penalty numbers for the Wage and Hour Division and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S Department of Labor are down sharply compared to previous presidential administrations.” Penalties for wage and hour violations were down by 94 percent and penalties for workplace health and safety violations were down 45 percent.

The letter describes the rollback of many regulations they said would adversely affect the welfare of workers, including a proposed rollback of the General Duty Clause—which is the codification of the duty of care—in situations where the nature of employment involves “inherently risky employment activities.” Examples given include “animal handling” and “professional sports,” but also “tactical, defense, and combat simulation training.” The proposal noted that the list of occupations were examples and not a complete list, leaving the possibility that occupations that involve “inherently risky employment activities” could be interpreted broadly.

The letter concludes by formally asking the Labor Secretary to answer more than a page of questions.

An article from The New York Times on the senators’ letter noted that while some Republicans have called for the elimination of OSHA, others prefer to refocus the agency’s efforts. The Times reported: “In recent years we have seen a regulatory approach that in many cases may have gone beyond OSHA’s statutory authority,” Representative Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), chairman of a subcommittee on work force protections, said during a hearing in May. “OSHA’s mission is too important to be undermined by overreach,” he added.

The Department of Labor has not publicly responded to the letter from the senators, and they did not respond to the Times request for comment.