On Monday, the president repealed the OSHA “Volks” Rule by signing the congressional resolution of disapproval. AGC led a lobbying effort in passing the bill and issued a statement after the vote that the bill will preserve worker safety while protecting the Constitution and respecting court rulings.

At the heart of the Volks matter was an Obama Administration OSHA rule – issued in December 2016 – that exposed employers to unfair liability for honest and inadvertent paperwork mistakes related to recordkeeping. The rule extended the statute of limitations on recordkeeping violations from six months to five and a half years, and did nothing to improve the safety or health of a company’s workers. The rule was initially issued by OSHA to circumvent a court decision involving a construction company that challenged an OSHA citation for a recordkeeping violation issued beyond six months. Two federal courts have since rebuked OSHA’s theory for issuing recordkeeping citations after six months.

The signing of the congressional resolution of disapproval formally repeals the rule and any other substantially similar rules from OSHA in the future. This is the second labor and employment rule repealed by President Trump that AGC played an integral role in, the other being the bill invalidating the blacklisting regulations, which was signed into law on March 27.

For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.

Senate Expected to Vote Soon
The Senate will consider repealing a rule that exposes business owners to unfair liability for honest and inadvertent paperwork mistakes related to recordkeeping. The rule – which extends the statute of limitations on recordkeeping violations from six months to five and a half years – does not improve the safety or health of your company’s workers. Contact your Senators and urge them to support swift passage of H.J.Res. 83 to stop OSHA’s abuse of authority. The House passed legislation to repeal the rule on March 1.
The rule was issued by OSHA to get around a court decision involving a construction company that challenged an OSHA citation for a recordkeeping violation issued beyond six months. Two federal courts have since rebuked OSHA’s theory for issuing recordkeeping citations after six months. This rule, issued by the Obama administration in December, directly contradicts both the courts and Congress.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.

Contact your Senators and Help Us Repeal this OSHA Rule
On March 1, an AGC-supported resolution passed in the U.S. House disapproving an Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) rule designed to allow OSHA to issue citations for recordkeeping violations beyond the current six-month limit, up to five and a half years. This expansion of the statute of limitations exposes employers to liability for honest and inadvertent paperwork mistakes related to recordkeeping. The U.S. Senate introduced a similar bill (Sponsored by Senator Cassidy (R-La.) and cosponsored by Senators Hatch (R-Utah), Isakson (R-Ga.) and Daines (R-Mont.)) this week with a vote scheduled by April 7. AGC urges the Senate to support the House-passed bill.  Please contact your Senators and urge them to support repeal of this burdensome rule.
The December 2016 rule, Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness, was issued in response to a federal court ruling that found that OSHA could no longer issue citations beyond the six-month statute of limitation window that is detailed in the OSH Act. The rule is often referred to as the “Volks” rule after the construction company that successfully challenged the rule in court in 2012. For several years OSHA had been operating under the theory that it could issue citations for the entire five-year period during which employers are required to keep records for injuries and illnesses. With this rule, OSHA showed a clear attempt to circumvent the judicial branch and congressional intent with this rule.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or Kevin Cannon at [email protected].

Contact your Members of Congress and Help Us to Repeal this OSHA Rule
This week, legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to block an OSHA rule that would allow OSHA to issue citations for recordkeeping violations beyond the current six month limit, up to five and a half years. This expansion of the statute of limitations from six months to five and a half years exposes employers to unfair liability for honest and inadvertent paperwork mistakes related to recordkeeping. Please contact your federal elected officials and urge them to support repeal of this burdensome rule.
The December 2016 rule was issued in response to a federal court ruling that OSHA could no longer issue citations beyond the six month statute of limitation window. The rule is often referred to as the “Volks” rule after the construction company that successfully challenged the rule in court in 2012. Prior to the bill’s introduction, a broad representation of 73 employer organizations joined AGC in a letter urging Congress to swiftly disapprove of the Volks Rule.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.