News: Firefighter union, volunteers at odds over OSHA safety standard

Monday, July 8, 2024

Firefighter union, volunteers at odds over OSHA safety standard

Jul 08, 2024

With help from Eleanor Mueller

QUICK FIX

FACING THE HEAT: The Biden administration’s proposal to overhaul safety standards for firefighters and fellow emergency responders nationwide has divided a major labor union from their volunteer peers and others in the field.

The International Association of Fire Fighters has come out strongly in favor of the proposed standards the Occupational Safety and Health Administration first announced back in December, would be the first substantial update to what’s known as the Fire Brigades Standard since its creation during the Carter administration.

It would call for baseline medical screening, training and certification requirements, access to certain types of protective gear, among other provisions. (The standard would also be rebranded as the Emergency Response Standard moving forward.)

The existing standard is wildly outdated and does not apply to many fire departments, leaving a patchwork of protections established by state and local governments and the National Fire Protection Association that can leave people exposed, according to IAFF leader Edward Kelly.

“We want healthy firefighters,” Kelly said in an interview. “If we have healthy firefighters, we have a healthier fire department. And the safer and healthier the fire department, the safer and healthier the community.”

However, of the more than 2,200 comments OSHA has received to date on its proposal, many submissions are highly critical of the standards — frequently citing the financial and administrative burdens they’d place on fire departments — and urge the Labor Department to not press ahead with them.

“The standard, as written, would just cripple many volunteer departments out there, and frankly, compromise emergency response in a lot of small communities across the country,” said Ryan Woodward, the chief of legislative and regulatory affairs at the National Volunteer Fire Council.

Though DOL stated in its regulatory filing that it has taken care to not design a “one-size-fits-all” policy, critics say that the proposal does not offer nearly enough flexibility to be workable.

“Did they make a couple of accommodations? They did. However, it barely scratches the surface,” Woodward said. “Your rural volunteer fire department is still going to have to fulfill 90 percent of the same criteria as the FDNY under this proposed standard.”

Further complicating matters, OSHA’s standards don’t directly apply to volunteers, though some states with OSHA-approved safety plans such as New York treat volunteer firefighters akin to career ones and thus could be covered.

The issue is on Congress’ radar and has spurred a pair of concerned letters to OSHA — one by House Republicans last month, and an earlier one from a bipartisan group led by Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.).

OSHA has responded by twice extending the public comment period, which is currently slated to close July 22, though a final version may not arrive before the end of Biden’s term.

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In the Workplace

FIRST IN SHIFT: National Partnership for Women & Families and Paid Leave for All’s political arms have teamed up again to grade members of Congress on their support for paid family and medical leave.

It’s only the second time the groups have released the scorecard. One new trend: More than 3 in 4 freshmen Democrats support it.

Paid Leave for All and Glamour have planned a series of actions in D.C. this week — including hosting a press conference and an evening reception Wednesday, plus delivering a petition signed by tens of thousands of Americans to members — as they and other advocates look to drive home paid leave’s popularity ahead of the election. — Eleanor Mueller

More workplace news: “The Jiggle Is Up: Bosses Bust Workers Who Fake Computer Activity,” from The Wall Street Journal.

AROUND THE AGENCIES

ICYMI, NONCOMPETE BAN BLOCKED: A federal judge in Texas dealt a stinging blow to the Biden administration last week, halting a ban on noncompete agreements in most employment contracts while the validity of the move is challenged in court.

In a 33-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Ada E. Brown said the Federal Trade Commission does not have the authority to set rules governing competition issues, Josh Sisco and your host report for Pro subscribers.

Technically speaking, Brown’s injunction is limited to barring the agency from enforcing the yet-to-take effect ban on the groups who brought the lawsuit, though the judge indicated she intends to wrap up the case by Aug. 30 — days before the FTC’s Sept. 4 implementation date.

“The FTC stands by our clear authority, supported by statute and precedent, to issue this rule,” agency spokesperson Douglas Farrar said. “We will keep fighting to free hardworking Americans from unlawful noncompetes, which reduce innovation, inhibit economic growth, trap workers, and undermine Americans’ economic liberty.”

SU SHRUGS OFF BIDEN STUMBLES: Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su poo-pooed a question Friday about the possibility of the Cabinet invoking the 25th Amendment to oust President Joe Biden, The Hill reports.

During her monthly media appearance to highlight the latest jobs report, Su was asked by a Fox Business reporter whether the subject has been broached at all. The labor secretary responded by laughing and calling the notion “absurd.”

Su then pivoted to the administration’s economic progress and touting the more than 200,000 jobs added in June.

More agency news: ‘Call the police, he’s on drugs’: But the worker was dying from heatstroke,” from E&E News’ Ariel Wittenberg.

On the Hill

FOXX GRILLS SULLIVAN: House Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) is demanding an explanation following reports that national security adviser Jake Sullivan urged German officials to investigate Mercedes-Benz for allegedly suppressing a unionization campaign in Alabama, our Lawrence Ukenye reports for Pro subscribers.

“It appears the Biden administration, through your actions, sought to put its thumb on the scale to benefit the UAW as the Mercedes-Benz election in Alabama was pending,” Foxx wrote in a letter sent to the State Department last week.

The letter follows a Bloomberg report last month that Sullivan pressed German officials at the request of United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain to look into union complaints that the auto manufacturer broke a German law that intended to prevent firms from violating labor standards overseas.

IN THE STATES

H-O-T-T-O-G-O: California and Florida are confronting the increasing risk of workplace heat stress in polar opposite ways, reflecting Democratic and Republican leadership in the respective states’ divergent views on the issue, our Blanca Begert and Bruce Ritchie report.

The Florida GOP reacted to localities instituting safety protections for workers by stripping municipal officials of authority, while California is mandating a host of new rules for warehouse employers when temperatures hit certain thresholds.

Both states are among those with the highest number of heat-related fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More state news: “Truckers hope protest over unpaid hours and lack of restrooms will spark a Permian Basin labor movement,” from The Texas Tribune.

Even more: “Microsoft settles California probe over worker leave for $14 million,” from Reuters.

Immigration

INT’L STUDENTS CAN SUE ICE U: A federal appeals court has cleared the way for foreign nationals who enrolled in a phony university set up by the Department of Homeland Security to sue, The Washington Post reports.

The ruse to snuff out student visa fraud enrolled hundreds of people at the fake college, which did not have classes or professors, and led to dozens of arrests.

“The panel specified that its ruling was not about whether ICE was authorized to conduct its operation, but if the federal government had ‘engaged in the sale of services,’ the judges wrote. They determined the students who paid to enroll at Farmington could sue the federal government for breach of contract and seek refunds for their tuition payments.”

More immigration news: “H-2A Farmworker Wage Rule Partially Blocked in Washington State,” from Bloomberg Law.

what we're reading

— “Behind Davos, Claims of a Toxic Workplace,” from The Wall Street Journal.

— “Why work four days a week when you can work six? Greece gives it a shot,” from The Washington Post.

— “PEER sues to force OPM to implement administrative leave reforms,” from the Government Executive.

THAT’S YOUR SHIFT!

POLITICO AND WELT EVENT TUESDAY 7/9: Join POLITICO and WELT for a roundtable discussion on July 9 with the top defense officials in NATO countries that share a border with Russia, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These are the crucial officials tasked with armoring these front-line states against Vladimir Putin’s aggressive expansionism. We will discuss how they are adapting to this new period of danger and explore the future of the NATO alliance and their relationship with the United States. Register here.